Modern Day Hero
by born2climb
Summary: Takes place four years after season three ended. Kyle has left the Tragers to live a life of solitude, while Jessi has embarked on a soul searching journey to figure out who Sarah was. Warning: you'll have to pay attention to the time line, and the perspective of each chapter!
1. Chapter 1

Kyle (POV)

FEBURARY 2013

I have often looked back on my decision to leave the safety of home, over the years. There will always be that part of me that will wonder if I made the right choice, or if I could have done something differently. That part lies in the empty feeling in my heart that my family once filled. It's been four years to the day since I left the Trager home, I'm now 21 years old and I live a life of solitude.

After the revelation that Cassidy presented of him being my brother, I realized that the hostile relationship I had with Latnok would never end. It was a relationship that I nor Foss, Jessi or the Tragers could sever, and that was why I left

FLASHBACK: JUNE 2009

I stared at my hands in disgust as Cassidy's limp body slumped to the floor. Cassidy was my brother; there was no doubt about it. Cassidy hadn't flinched a muscle when he said it, his voice never faltered, his eyes never adverted my gaze, he was my brother. The glass crunched beneath the heavy boot steps that I had come to recognize as Foss's steps.

"Kyle," He said perceptively before he crouched beside Cassidy's flaccid body checking his pulse.

"What…What have I done?" The words fell from my lips as the realization sunk in. "He was my brother."

"You did what you had to do." He mumbled as he began covering up the crime I had committed.

"Kyle!" Foss shouted and a zombie state kicked in, we began cleaning everything up, making it look like a break in gone wrong.

Foss had ordered me to call the police and inform them of the false crime we had cooked up. He coached me on how to answer the questions the authorities would have. I would tell them that I came home to find the house had been broken into, that Cassidy was dead when I arrived, and that the rest of the Tragers were out of town and I was to be meeting them the following day at our cabin for a family vacation. Foss had been so quick to come up with a story I never doubted the details and neither did the officers who took my statement.

The police had found traces of cocaine in Cassidy's blood and ruled that he and one other person broke into the house in order to steal items to pawn for drug money and there had been a bit of a struggle. The cocaine was another fabrication of Foss's to pull all the loose ends together.

Foss had sent the Tragers to a safe house until everything had 'blown over', were his exact words. I sat at my desk in my room of the empty house. I knew what I had to do; it didn't matter where Foss sent the Tragers their lives would always be in danger.

I sealed the note in a cream colored envelope and wrote 'I'm sorry' on the outside and set in on the desk. I grabbed my backpack filled with essential things and took one last look at the room that was once Stephen's workshop and a 'welcome to the family' gift from the Tragers. I strode slowly through the vacant house that had become my home and took in every last detail.

As I shut the front door tears pooled in the rims of my eyes. This was it, this was my cowardly goodbye to the people I loved the most.

END OF FLASHBACK

It was four o'clock in the morning and I was sitting in a fairly vacant airport in Frankfurt awaiting my flight to Afghanistan. A year after I left the Tragers I travelled to England and attended Oxford and completed a degree in engineering and then went on to receive my medical degree from there as well. For the last year I had been working at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany. It was a military hospital that dealt with a lot of the soldiers that had been fighting in the Middle East.

My flight had been delayed until later in the morning. I leaned my head against the window beside me and rested my eyes. I let my thoughts carefully wonder, it had been a few months since I had last had any contact with Jessi or Foss. They had both made me promise to have some form of contact with them after I left for England. In return I had asked Foss to look after the Tragers and make sure Latnok didn't haunt their lives after I was gone. Occasionally Foss would drop in on me, it was usually if I was residing somewhere within the U.S. he wasn't a fan of long trips.

I wasn't one to sleep well so out of boredom I fumbled through my beaten up backpack until my fingers grazed the worn brown leather journal. Between a couple of the sheets I had slid a few photographs, they were of the few mementos I had allowed myself to take with me. I smiled at the first one it was of Josh and Lori and I, a typical sibling photo. The corners were slightly tattered from years of handling. There was a photo of the whole family as well, along with one of Declan and I that Lori had taken after a game of basketball. The last one was of Amanda and I, it was a casual picture of us sitting on the steps outside the Trager house.

I smiled at the memories that the pictures never failed to stir up. They always led me to wonder how everyone was doing now. What had become of each of them, and the infamous feeling of uncertainty of my leaving.

"Hopefully we'll be able to board this flight soon." It was Emmet who had spoken. He was one of the doctors traveling with me to Afghanistan, he and I met while we both worked at a hospital in Germany. Unbeknown to us we had actually attended Oxford at the same time.

"Should be any minute now." I mumbled, stowing away the photos in the crevasse of the journal and stuffing it back into the backpack.

"I'll be glad once we're out of this dreadful rain." He commented as he sipped his coffee.

I nodded and gazed out the window, the rain always reminded me of Seattle, of home. When I spent some time in Northern Australia, working on building eco-friendly energy sources, it rained almost every day.

"Now boarding flight 815 to Afghanistan, now boarding flight 815 to Afghanistan." One of the flight attendants came on the P.A. and announced first in German and then again in English. We were taking a small commercial plan. The only ones on the flight were medical personal.

"That's us," I mumbled as I stood and slung my bag over one of my shoulders and made my way through the boarding line.

"Thank god," Emmett sighed dramatically and followed my lead.

"Enjoy your flight," The attendant who was scanning passports said as she handed me back mine and waved me on.

**AN: Hey everyone! I'm back! I've decided that I would write one last fanfiction for Kyle XY. This is slightly different from my other story; it focuses on Kyle as a hero rather than him as a family man. Anyway I hope you enjoy this story and feel free to comment! **


	2. Chapter 2

Nicole

First Person Perspective

AUGUST 2014

It was nearing three o'clock in the morning; Stephen was fast asleep upstairs in our bed. I had spent the last few hours tossing and turning, trying my best to get to sleep. It had been a while since I had experienced a night like this. Right after Kyle had left, nights like these were common.

The whistle on the teakettle blew, signaling that the water had reached the right temperature. I poured the steaming hot water into a maroon colored mug and dipped the bag of chamomile tea in. I poured a little milk into the mixture just as I had always done. I took my mug of tea and crept off to my office.

It was nights like these that I often thought of Kyle. I wondered where he was, if he was okay, even if he was alive. Shortly after he left, Jessi did too. She had said that she was going to go after Kyle, to make sure he was okay. Part of he had always hoped that she would find him and bring him home, however the rational side of me knew that she would never return and neither would he.

I snatched his file from my filing cabinet in the closet and took it over to my desk. I sat down, and opened the file. Nothing had changed, I never expected it too. I found his report from the children's center along with his drawings and the MRI. After he had left I had stuck the letter he had left behind in his file as well.

I held the tattered envelope in my hands, the words 'I'm sorry' slightly faded however still recognizable as his handwriting, on the outside. Holding the envelope caused me to think back to the day that I had opened the envelope for the first time.

5 YEARS AGO… MARCH 2009

Foss had said that it was safe to go back into the house. He had explained that there was no longer a threat from Michael Cassidy, the member of Latnok. He hadn't given us more information than that. I couldn't say why exactly, but each of us walked hesitantly around the house. I guess we all thought there still might be danger lurking in the shadows given that it was nearing midnight.

"Where's Kyle?" Josh asked after a moment of searching.

"He might have had to meet with Foss," Lori suggested.

In the pit of my stomach I knew he was gone. I just knew. I tentatively advanced down the hallway from the kitchen and to his room. I paused outside his door, praying that he would be stretched out in his tub fast asleep. I finally gathered the courage and opened the door only to find his tub empty and a note on his desk.

I timidly walked toward his desk and picked up the envelope, 'I'm sorry,' scrawled on the outside in his half cursive half print handwriting. My knees buckled beneath me and I clasped down onto the edge of his porcelain tub.

_Nicole,_

_ I know that my leaving will cause a tremendous amount of pain, for that I'm sorry. I am trying to do what is best for the family. It's my job to keep you guys safe and as long as I am apart of your lives you will all be in danger. I'm sorry that I have left in such a cowardly way, I just can't deal with having to say goodbye. I know that is selfish of me and I hope you can forgive me. I couldn't take the chance of my mind being changed. _

_ I'm sorry that is has to be this way. This will be the last time you or anyone else in the family will hear from me. Any contact with me would put you guys in more danger. I can't take that risk. _

_ I hope that one day you will understand why I'm doing this. I hope that one day you can forgive me. I still love each of you and I will always consider you to be my family._

_ Love always,_

_ Kyle_

Tears filled the brim of my eyes and blurred my vision. He was really gone. And this time, he wouldn't be coming home. I looked up to see Stephen standing in the doorway. I knew he too had the same feeling I did. A look of sadness washed over his face as he came to realize the situation. He came over and took me in his arms. Kyle was gone. Our son was gone.

PRESENT TIME.

I placed the envelope back in his file and closed it. Stephen always worried that I was still holding onto the sadness of Kyle leaving. He always hated when I would bring out his file, to him it was like reopening a wound that would never heal. He knew that Kyle could pull on heart strings stronger than anyone else could.

There were times when I would look up and hope to see him standing there in the doorway. I would picture him smiling his boyish grin. However he wasn't standing there, the doorway was vacant and always would be. I had come to realize long ago that Kyle was meant to touch the world. He wasn't meant to live an ordinary suburban life, he was meant to do great things. He was meant to find cures for cancer or end world hunger. I just wish I could have some piece of mind and know that he was truly okay.

I sighed as I rose from my seat and put the file away. I decided to head back up stairs and give sleep another shot. It would be better to have a few hours of sleep to get through the day than no sleep.

I crept quietly up the stairs and into the bedroom. Stephen was still snoring away, oblivious to my absence. I slid back under the covers with ease. I had work in the morning and sleep was required. Almost a year after Kyle had left I had gone back to work, however this time I was working out of an office in the city and not my home.


	3. Chapter 3

Declan

Declan (POV)

AUGUST 2014

As I rounded the corner to the entrance of the Rack, I couldn't help but feel a sense of nostalgia. The last time I had set foot in this place was during my senior year of high school, which was about four years ago. I hesitated for a moment and peered in through the glass door. That was when I saw her, sitting at one of the corner tables; she was sipping coffee while she read her book. I smiled, she still looked the same, and her auburn hair still fell in loose ringlets around her shoulders. It was funny how just seeing someone from my past could bring up so many emotions that I thought I had long overcome. We were just old friends catching up over coffee, yet I still felt nervous.

I shook off the nerves and pushed the door and entered the coffee shop. I ran my hand though my short cut hair, trying my best to wick away the wetness from the rain.

"Hey Trager," I beamed as I approached Lori's table.

"McDonough," She smirked back as she stood to give me a hug, "It's been _way_ too long,"

"I know," I agreed, squeezing my arms around her, "almost four years,"

Lori smiled as we sat back down at the table. After we graduated from high school, she had gone off to New York to study music, and I joined the army. We stayed in touch at first, sending emails at least once a week. However once a week turned into once a month which eventually led to a few times a year.

"I see the army has treated you well," She joked, "I'm pretty sure you weren't on steroids in high school,"

"Nice Trager, mock a man who has fought for his country," I teased.

She shook her head and sighed slightly, her smile softening, "I still can't get used to that,"

"What do you mean?" I asked, slightly confused.

"I can't picture you in a war zone, _fighting_," Lori explained, "I still remember when playing pro-basketball was your dream,"

"It's crazy how much things change," I mumbled, shifting in my seat.

"You're telling me," She agreed.

"So what is this I hear that you're going back to school?" I questioned, "What happened to 'Lori Trager singer song writer'?"

"She inevitably grew up," Lori sighed, "I always thought music was my passion and that I'd be the next Cold Play or something, but as of late I've been reassessing my life and I decided to go back to school and get a degree in phycology,"

"I always suspected that you would eventually follow in your Mom's footsteps," I smiled softly.

We were both older now; we had outgrown the lives that we used to share. We had tasted life outside of our high school bubble and it had changed our views of the world.

I had fought in a war, an experience that aged me a fair amount. It was evident in my physical appearance, I now had little crinkles in the corners of my eyes and the lines around my mouth were deeper and more prevalent. My skin was darker and my hair was a shade lighter from the constant sun exposure.

Lori had experiences of her own; she lived in New York from the age of eighteen until a few months prior. She wasn't the jaded teenager she had once been. Her experiences had shaped her into an entirely new person.

"So how long are you in town anyway?" She asked as her fingers trace the contours of her empty mug.

"I just finished my last tour in Afghanistan," I said keeping away from the reason why I had been sent home, "They won't be sending me back,"

"Well that's a good thing, right?" Her eyebrows knit together in confusion.

"Yeah, yeah," I nodded, I was unsure of how I felt about the situation, "It's just different being home,"

"I'm sure," She sympathized, "Are you living with your Dad or…."

"Actually, I just signed a lease for an apartment down town," I felt some relief that the topic had changed, "What about you?"

"I'm living at home until I start classes at U-dub in the fall," She explained.

My phone vibrated against the table, I checked it and found that it was just a text. 'We need to meet,' was all it said. I stuffed the phone into the pocket of my jacket. Lori took note that I hadn't bothered to reply to the message.

"Girlfriend?" She questioned, raising one eyebrow.

"No, no," I sighed, "The last girlfriend I had sent me a 'Dear John' letter while I was over seas,"

"Ouch," She winced, "that's rough,"

"Yeah," I nodded, "Are you still with Mark?"

"No, we couldn't make the long distance work," She was referring to when she was in New York and Mark was still in Seattle.

"So is Lori Trager single and open for business?" I teased, referring to what she had said in high school.

"Oh my god," her cheeks flushed, "The things we said in high school,"

"The things _you_ and _Hillary_ said and did in high school," I corrected, with a lighter tone, "I still remember when re-virginization was sweeping the nation, or when all the guys on the basketball team's girlfriends thought they were in a 'gunk' or an 'unwee',"

"We were clever," She shrugged, "What can I say,"

"Sure, clever," I laughed slightly, "I missed this,"

"I missed this too," She admitted.

"I have to get going," I mumbled as I stood up, "but do you think you'd have time for lunch later this week?"

"Sure, just text me later and we'll figure out a day," She said as she stood as well.

"I'll see you around, Trager," I smirked as I bent down slightly to give her a hug.

It was still raining when I left the Rack, so I jogged to my truck. The SUV that I driven in high school had died; now I was driving a pick up truck. I drove through Seattle and watched as the shops and boutiques pass by. I had a sense of familiarity as I drove. I knew I was getting close when I passed the fishing docks and vacant factories. The gravel crunch under the tires as I pulled up to the old warehouse.

"You're late," A rough call echoed through the warehouse as I pushed the heavy metal door open.

"Sorry Foss," I mumbled, "I'm here now,"

After Kyle left Tom Foss had taken me under his wing and began to train me. Foss had said that there would come a day when I would have to take over being Kyle's protector. At first it was rough, we had a lot of animosities to work though. Eventually we both got over our differences and began working together.

"What's on the agenda for today?" I asked as I changed into a pair of jogging pants and a sweatshirt.

"How do you feel about running in the rain?" Foss smirked, grabbing his dark green raincoat.

"Not like I haven't done it before," I countered.

There was a difference between the way Foss trained me and the way he had trained Kyle. With Kyle, his training had been more of conditioning his body to keep up with his mind. With me however, Foss's military background had more of an influence.

"Grab those cinderblocks," he ordered.

I grabbed a cinderblock in each hand and followed him out of the warehouse. We walked until we came to a flight of stairs that led to an abandoned business building.

"I want you to hold one of the cinderblocks above your head while you run up and down these steps," He called over the noise of the rain.

I nodded and got to it, pushing myself as hard as I could. I had learned early on that it was better to not question Foss's antics, but rather just do as I was told. While I wasn't in Afghanistan or on base, I was training with Foss. Occasionally, Jessi would make an appearance and give a report on Kyle, however that was usually only at night and she never stayed for too long.

After running the steps for almost an hour, Foss finally stopped me.

"How's your shoulder?" Foss asked, noticing I must have winced when I set the cinderblock down.

"Nothing I can't handle," I shrugged it off.

"I don't need your pride, getting in the way of our training," Foss grumbled as he picked up one of the cinderblocks and began walking back to the warehouse, "How much pain are you actually in?"

"It's manageable, about a four on a good day," I downplayed.

"We'll take it easy for a while," Foss said, "Give you some time to heal,"

1 Year ago… MAY 2013 (No POV)

Declan sat in the passenger side of the Humvee. He and his squad had been sent on patrol, they were escorting a Red Cross vehicle that was bringing supplies to a health clinic. Getting the truck to its drop zone had been easy. They were currently on rout back to the base. His fellow officers were going on about how they would be returning home in a few weeks on leave. They all had girlfriends or wives or family's to go back to, they had lives back home.

Declan watched the road as they carried on. He noticed a child, no older than ten, on the side of the road watching all the vehicles go by. The boy reached into his pocket, something about the boy set him on edge. However his nerves were calmed when the boy pulled out a small toy from his pocket. The Humvee continued down the dirt road, the other officers oblivious to Declan's observation.

The Humvee hit a small bump in the road and everything changed. Suddenly Declan couldn't hear his fellow officers talking, all he could hear was the deafening sound of white noise. He knew they had driven over a roadside bomb. Declan couldn't move, as his body had been flung out of the Humvee onto the sand. He knew he had been hurt, however he was unsure of the extent of his injuries because of the adrenaline that was pumping through his body. He began feeling his chest searching for the source of the blood that was pooling around him.

One of the officers in the other Humvee came rushing to his aid. Declan could see the man speaking to him however he couldn't make out what was being said. He could feel the officer apply pressure to his chest. Eventually everything went black and his body gave into the pain.


	4. Chapter 4

Jessi

FEBURARY 2013

The snow was piling up on the windowsill, as I sat at a table in a fairly empty coffee shop in Chicago. Kyle had promised that he would be able to talk around eight in the evening my time, which was about six o'clock in the morning his time.

For the last six months I had been trying to find any information possible on my mother. Her trail had led me to Chicago. I had been following the path she took after she disappeared from Seattle in 1984. So far I was going on the few people she had came in contact with along the way and any records on the alias she used, Julie Evens. From Seattle she had hitched a ride to Portland, from there she road the bus to Phoenix. After then she went straight to Chicago.

I have yet to figure out why she spent time in those places. The theory that I have been running with is that she was trying to fly under Latnok's radar. I was going over the notes I had taken from the conversation I had with the very old owner of a motel just outside of Phoenix that Sarah had spent almost two months at. The town had been very remote, approximately 3,000 people, so I wasn't too surprised that the owner had remembered my mother. He wasn't able to tell me much, other than she was quiet, polite, came and went throughout the day, and made her payments in cash at the end of each week. The only lead he had been able to give me was to a woman named Nora Lane.

When I tried to contact her at her last known address I found the property to be vacant. There was only a run down house that didn't look suitable to live in. The only reason I had been led to Chicago was because I had been able to track down a truck driver that lived three hours outside of Phoenix. He wasn't much of a help considering he was fairly drunk when I had spoken with him.

I was pulled from my thoughts by my laptop notifying me that I had an incoming video chat. Before Kyle had left we had created a program that would allow us to chat using the video however was untraceable because our signal changed towers every three minutes.

"Good morning," I smiled as I saw his face pop up on my screen.

"Hey," He smiled, "Still in Chicago?"

"Yeah, it looks like I'll be here a while," I sighed.

"Why's that?" He asked, his eyebrows knitting together like they always did when he was confused or concerned.

"I figured I'd stay here until I find a lead that takes me elsewhere," I shrugged.

"Just be careful," He warned, "Have you heard from Foss?"

"I have," I nodded, "I was in Seattle last week. Your family is still safe,"

"Did he," he paused, glancing away from the camera, "Did he say how they were doing?"

Being away from his family was something that he struggled with for years. He hated having to be away from them. One of Kyle's dreams was to go back to the Tragers and be home again.

"You know Foss," I smiled sadly, "He's a man of few words,"

"Right," he trailed off.

I wanted to tell him to just go home, go back to his family. I hated seeing him like this. He and I both knew though that it wasn't possible.

"How's everything there?" I asked, changing the subject.

"Good, my team and I landed at the medical base last night," He informed me, "We had to assist with a few surgeries to stabilize the soldiers that we were called in for,"

"Will you be taking them back to Germany?" I asked.

"You know I can't answer that," He reminded me.

"Right, its _classified_," I rolled my eyes, "Once you're done there, what's next?"

"What's next?" He didn't follow.

"Will you be staying in Germany?" I clarified.

"Oh, um I'm not sure," he thought about it, "I guess I will if they still need me,"

Before I could say anything else, someone came into the room he was in and said they needed his help.

"I have to go," he said, "I'll send you a message of when I can talk again,"

We said a quick goodbye and the conversation ended. I went back to my research. I watched an older man brush the snow off his black jacket and take off his light grey newsboy cap as he walked into the coffee shop. He scanned the crowed before he advanced to the register to order a coffee.

"Ms. Emerson?" The older gentleman presumed, as he approached my table.

"Roy Harper?" I countered.

He smiled kindly. The kind of smile only an old man could manage to give.

"You look just like Sarah," He mumbled, "May I?"

"Of course," I said, clearing my things out of the way as he sat down across from me, "You knew my mother. How?"

"She took my advanced Nero-science class in the fall of 1988," He said, "She was brilliant. She aced all of the course work and the exams. At that time I was working on a clinical trial for Alzheimer's disease. After many conversations and witnessing her genius first hand I knew she would be of great help to me,"

As Roy spoke, I analyzed everything about him. I paid close attention to his heart rate and any nervous habit. However he never faltered, he was being completely truthful.

"You worked with her?" I asked.

"I did," He nodded, "Up until late 1989. The last time I spoke with her was just after Thanksgiving that year,"

I got out my notebook that I had been recording any notes in.

"Can I ask why you're doing this?" He questioned.

"My mother, she died, before I really had a chance to get to know her," I explained without giving away too many details.

"I'm sorry to hear that," He said softly, "Your father? He's…"

"He's not apart of my life," I answered.

"I'm sorry, I really shouldn't have asked," Roy became a little uneasy in his seat, "I should really learn to not pry,"

"It's fine," I brushed it off.

"Can you tell me more about her?" I asked eagerly, "You spent so long with her,"

He smiled, "Where do I begin?" He chuckled.

I could tell I had struck gold with Roy Harper. So far he was my biggest lead in finding out about Sarah. However there was a huge portion of her life that I still had yet to discover. How did she and Brian come to be my biological parents? Why did she leave Seattle all those years ago? Who was she before Adam Baylin? I had all these questions and very limited resources to go on. This journey was something I had to figure out though, not only to discover who my mother was, but to help figure out who I am.

**AN: Hey everyone! I hope everyone has enjoyed this new chapter and the last few chapters that I have posted. I wanted to make a note about Declan's flashback at the end of the last chapter; the time line says May 2013 when it should be February 2013. As of right now that doesn't matter too much, however in chapters to come it will. Anyway thanks for reading and feel free to comment!**


	5. Chapter 5

Kyle (POV)

FEBUARY 2013

I couldn't say anything to Jessi, however one of the soldiers that was involved in the accident happened to be Declan. Emmett was the doctor on Declan's case; I had asked him if he would keep me updated. The one thing I liked about Emmett was that he didn't ask too many questions. I followed closely in tow with him as we advanced down the small hallway.

"Sargent McDonough was seated in the front passenger seat," Emmett explained to me, "He received the majority of the impact from the explosion,"

"What are the extents of his injuries?" I asked, as we paused just outside the make shift intensive care unit.

"He has burns on his back, his clavicle was broken from being flung out of the Humvee," He sighed, "A piece of shrapnel pierced his chest, braking four ribs and collapsing his right lung,"

"What were you and Dr. Connolly able to do?" I asked.

"Well, we were able to remove the shrapnel from his chest and repair his lung," He said, folding his arms across his chest, "The burns to his back will need skin graphs, which we won't be able to do till we're back in Germany. Also because of his burns we think its best to keep him sedated,"

"Because of the pain," I assumed and he nodded, "Anything else?"

"No, that's all," he sighed.

"Thank you, Emmett," I said as I turned to enter the ICU area.

I checked on my patient, who was stable and doing well, before I entered the curtained off section that Declan was in. He looked terrible to say the least. I hesitantly stepped toward his bedside. He still had a breathing tube in, because of the injury to his lung. There were small cuts and bits of dirt on his face. His chest was bandaged and his arm was set in a sling. There were two monitors keeping track of his vitals along with an I.V. that was pumping fluids and a drip line for the sedatives.

"Declan…" I trailed off, resting my knuckles on the edge of his bed.

As I stood there I couldn't help but think back to the last day that I had talked to him in person, just before I left.

FLASHBACK: JUNE 2009

I watched the houses and trees of the suburbs turn into business buildings and coffee shops as Foss drove us into the city. We continued on to the warehouse where we would plan out our next course of action. When we pulled up, I saw that Declan's car was there waiting.

"What's_ he_ doing here?" Foss grumbled as we got out of the car, "He shouldn't be here Kyle,"

"Foss," I warned, not wanting to deal with his animosity toward Declan, "You'll need his help,"

"Like hell I will," he muttered in a tone so low I wasn't sure he had intended for me to hear.

When we entered the warehouse Declan stood by one of Foss's tables stacked with books. He looked slightly out of place.

"I'm sorry I called you here so late," I apologized.

"No worries," He shrugged.

"I'm going to have to leave town for a while," I said as Foss busied himself in the back room.

"Leave town?" He asked, "Kyle, what are you talking about?"

I sighed before I delved into explaining everything that had occurred with Cassidy. I explained how I had left the Tragers as well. I lastly explained how Cassidy was my brother and that I had taken his life. Declan's mouth gapped slightly than closed unsure of what to say.

"So you're just going to leave?" He finally spoke.

"I have to do what's best," I said, "If I stay with the Tragers… They'll always be in harms way because of me,"

"So what's the plan?" he asked, still not fully excepting the idea of me leaving.

I glanced over at Foss who had joined us again.

"I'm going to take Kyle away," He announced, "Jessi is going to run damage control with the Tragers,"

"Away, where exactly?" Declan asked.

"We'll start with one of Adam's hideouts," Foss explained, he was being extra cautious not revealing its exact location, "I won't say any more than that,"

"Of course not," Declan huffed.

"Declan, I will need you to do something for me," I said before Foss could say anything, "I'll need you to look after the Tragers,"

"Yeah," He nodded, "No problem,"

"Also," I paused, pulling out an envelope from my jacket pocket, "Will you give this to Amanda?"

He nodded, "Sure thing,"

"Kyle we need to keep moving," Foss reminded me.

"Okay," I replied, as he went back to the back room to grab the essentials that we would need.

"So this is it?" Declan sighed.

"For now," I mumbled, "I'll try my best to have some contact through Foss or Jessi,"

"Does this mean I have to start getting along with him?" He grimaced.

"To some extent," I chuckled, "Don't worry, he'll get better,"

We said goodbye and I joined Foss, who was loading up the van. Declan drove away while I helped Foss load a few boxes. We got in the van and that was it. We drove long into the night, only stopping to refill the gas tank. It wasn't until the early hours of the next morning that we arrived at the small house a few hours east of Portland. We stayed there long enough to figure out our next move, than we were gone again.

PRESENT TIME 2013 (one week later)

My colleagues and myself transported Declan and two other soldiers back to the hospital in Germany to receive better care. My shift had ended a little over an hour ago; I had yet to go back to my apartment because I couldn't seem to leave Declan. The army had taken the proper course of action in contacting his father, however he couldn't find the time to be with his son. He was my best friend; I couldn't let him be alone.

I sat by his bedside; he was still under heavy medication so he was in a deep sleep. The breathing tube had been removed yesterday and his burns were being treated. He had months of physical therapy ahead of him and his work, as an active duty soldier, didn't seem likely. I looked up when Emmett appeared in the room to check on Declan. He was quiet as he did his exam and recorded Declan's vitals in his chart.

"I have to ask," He said breaking the silence, "How do you know this guy?"

I sighed as I contemplated how to field this question. No one that I worked with knew anything about my personal life and that was how I liked to keep it. I tried not to stay in one place long enough for people to get to know me.

"He's a friend from back home," I mumbled, trying my best to not prompt any further questions.

He nodded, not taking his eyes off his note he was writing. I was glade he didn't push the subject. Emmett was one of the few coworkers who didn't feel the need to pry into my personal life.

"I'm going to head out for the night," I said, standing up from my chair, "Will you give me a call if something changes?"

"Sure, sure," He nodded.

I left the room and made my way to the locker room. As I changed into my street clothes one of my fellows entered the room.

"Hey," It was Addison Sawyer; she smiled as she passed me on her way to her locker.

"Hey," I mumbled as I pulled my light grey sweater over my head.

I slipped my black coat on and was about to leave when she stopped me.

"Kyle?" She said and I turned to face her, "Do you want to go get a drink?"

"I can't," I sighed.

"And whys that?" She persisted, stepping closer to me.

"I have to get home," I replied, trying my best to think of a believable excuse.

"Come on," She smiled, "Just one drink, then you can go home,"

I stuck my hands in my jacket pockets and stared at her. This wasn't the first time she had asked me out for a drink before. It probably wouldn't be the last either.

"One drink," I said.

She quickly changed into her regular clothes then we walked out of the hospital together. We went to a bar a few blocks away and sat down at one of the two person booths.

"So who is Dr. Adams?" She asked sipping her drink.

I smiled; I had changed my last name to Adams when I moved to Germany. Before that it had been Roberts and before that Turner and before that Trager. Foss wanted me to change my last name every time I moved to a new location.

"What do you mean?" I asked, playing with the beer bottle in my hand.

"You've worked at the hospital for almost a year now, and the only thing anyone knows about you is that you're some kick ass surgeon and your name is Kyle Adams,"

"What do you want to know?" I asked.

"Really?" She raised an eyebrow skeptically.

"Sure," I smirked; anything I said would be a lie anyway.

"Where did you grow up?" She started.

"Denver, Colorado," I answered.

"Family?" She questioned.

"Only child, my parents died in a car crash," I went with the Peterson's story.

"Wow, that must have been rough," She commented.

I shrugged taking a sip of my beer, trying my best to not give off any emotional cues that would prompt more questions. She continued asking questions and I continued to provide lies. Lying had become more natural to me since I left the Trager's. I still hated to have to fabricate my life to people, but I did it for them. I created as much distance as possible between my life now, and the life I had with the Trager's.

"One drink," I said setting my empty bottle down on the table.

"You really won't have another one?" She said playfully.

"You said one drink," I reminded her.

"Fine," She said, "Will you at least walk me home?"

"Sure," I said as I turned to leave the bar.

Her apartment was just a block away from my apartment. As we walked she wrapped her arm around mine. I stopped short, just outside her apartment.

"Look Addison, you're a really nice girl," I started, "But I'm just not looking for a relationship,"

"Neither am I," She whispered, stepping closer to me.

I don't know why I did, but I let her kiss me. It felt good yet wrong all at the same time. It had been so long since I had felt that sort of contact with anyone. Without thinking I let my hands find their way around her waist as she wrapped her arms around my neck. Our lips molded together, and just as quickly as the kiss happened, I pulled away.

"I'm sorry," I whispered, "I have to go,"

"Goodnight Kyle," She smiled seductively.

"Goodnight Addison," I mumbled, turning to take the steps down to the sidewalk.

"Kyle?" she called.

"Yeah?" I said, looking up at her.

"I'm not giving up," She winked before slipping through the door to her building.

I shook my head and sighed as I began my walk home. It was clear the Addison was only looking to have sex. But I knew it was never just sex. It may start out that way, however I knew that she would become attached and I couldn't do that to her. I couldn't let her or any other girl form feelings for me because if I did, it meant that I would have to leave and move on to the next city.

I turned the keys in the lock of my apartment door and opened it. It was a small studio; my bedroom, living room, kitchen was all connected. The only thing that was separate was the bathroom. I set my keys down on the counter and shrugged out of my jacket, hanging it up on a hook by the door. I stripped off my clothes before climbing into my bed and passing out for the night.

**AN: Hello everyone! I hope you all enjoyed this new chapter. I'm starting to develop Kyle in a new way. When he lived with the Tragers he was a very innocent person. However now that he has been on his own and is experiencing the world he's become more grown up? I guess would be the word. Anyway I hope you all liked it and please feel free to comment!**


	6. Chapter 6

Declan

Declan (POV)

AUGUST 2014

I peered around the small cold room as I sat and waited for the doctor to come in. The walls had been painted a bleak yellow in an attempt to make the room feel more welcoming. There was one of those cheesy scenic photos with some inspirational phrase underneath it, hanging on the wall. I sat perched on the edge of the exam table, drumming my fingers on the sides. I had never liked doctor's offices; they always seemed to bring bad news.

"Sargent McDonough," Dr. Henry greeted as he entered the room, "Sorry for the wait,"

Dr. Henry was a fairly tall, middle-aged man; who wore black-rimmed glasses, and had dark brown hair with flecks of grey in it.

"Not a problem," I mumbled.

"So," He prompted as he sat down on the little swivel chair, "It's been three months since our last visit. How has everything been?"

"Not too bad," I shrugged.

"You've been keeping up with your physical therapy?"

"Yes Sir," I nodded.

"How's the job search been?" He continued.

"I've been doing some security work for a small company," I provided, I would have to remind Foss to forge some documentation.

"That's good that you're keeping busy," He noted, "And what about the group therapy?"

I became very quiet. He had been trying to get me to attend group therapy through the veterans assistant program. I however didn't see the need in therapy and found it to be a waste of time. I didn't need to sit around and listen to other people talk about their problems.

"The group councilor says you haven't been to a single meeting," He added, "Why is that?"

"I don't see the need, Sir," I shrugged.

"Declan, a lot of soldiers have a hard time adjusting back into civilian life," He said, "Its very common. I can't force you to go, but I highly suggest that you do."

"Yes, Sir," I nodded.

"Okay, now let me take a look at your back and see how you're healing," He said and I removed my charcoal grey t-shirt.

"There is still quite a bit of scaring, but that should fade, it will just take some time," He was referring to the burns on the back of my shoulders.

"Battle scars," I chuckled and so did he.

"Your collar bone seems to have healed well," He noted as he began to press on my ribs, causing me to wince, "I see that your ribs are still sore,"

"Just a little bit," I mumbled.

"Ribs seem to take a while to heal," Dr. Henry said, "Your scare on your chest is healing well. Are you having any trouble breathing?"

"No, Sir," I shook my head.

"That's good," He nodded, "Well everything seems to be in order,"

I nodded as I stood up and pulled my shirt back over my head.

"The only thing I can recommend would be for you to attend the group therapy sessions," He added, opening the door for me.

"I'll see what I can do," I said, "Thank you Sir,"

I left the office and headed out to my truck. It was almost six and I had to pick up Lori soon for our dinner plans. It had been a couple of weeks since our catching up over coffee at the Rack. The more and more time I spent with her, the more my feelings for her came creeping back. Part of me wondered if these feelings were just because it had been so long since we had been together, however another part of me wondered if these feelings were something more.

I pulled up in front of the Trager house and parked on the curb. When I climbed out of my truck I saw Mrs. Trager grabbing groceries from the back of her old station wagon.

"Here Mrs. Trager," I called, jogging over to her, "Let me help you with those,"

"Oh thank you Declan," She smiled in appreciation, "How have you been?"

"I can't complain," I smiled, taking a brown paper bag in each arm.

"I take it you and Lori have plans again?" She beamed, with a tone that implied more than what she had said.

"Yeah, we were going to grab dinner," I said as I followed her up the steps to the porch and into the house.

"Lor!?" Mrs. Trager called once we were inside.

"In here!" I heard her call back. It sounded like she was in Kyle's old room.

"You can just set those on the counter in the kitchen Declan, thank you," Mrs. Trager said as she hung up her coat on the hook by the door.

I set the bags on the counter like she had requested and then made my way back to Kyle's old room. It had been years since I had been inside the Trager home and nothing had changed. There were still framed photos all along the walls, a load of clean laundry sat on the stairs waiting to be taken up, it even had the same smell that I had grown used to.

"Hey," I said, nocking on the doorframe.

"Oh! Hey," She jumped slightly, "I didn't know you were here too,"

"I was just helping your mom carry in a few grocery bags," I informed.

Kyle's room looked exactly the way he had left it. His tub still sat in the middle of the room, his drawings were still tacked to his board. There was even an empty bag of _Sour Patch Kids_ on his desk.

"It's weird," Lori commented, gazing around, "I still expect to come in here and find him drawing at his desk, or siting in his tub,"

"I know," I mumbled as I leaned against the doorway, folding my arms over my chest.

"You haven't heard from him, have you?" Her eyes looked so hopeful.

"No," I lied.

"Of course," she whispered, "no one has,"

I knew it killed her that Kyle left without so much as a goodbye. There has never been any true closure for her when it comes to the pain of her brother's absence. I hated having to lie to her about my interactions with Kyle, however I knew that in the long run I was doing it to keep her safe

"I miss him," She admitted with a heart-breaking smile.

I walked over to her and pulled her into a hug. She rested her head against my chest and I just held her. I didn't know what else to do. There wasn't anything that I could say that wouldn't be a lie.

"Hey Lori! I know you guy's have-" Mrs. Trager stopped short after catching us in such an intimate embraces, "I'm sorry, I was just going to offer for you guys to stay here for dinner,"

Lori pulled away slightly to look up at me, "Its up to you,"

"Its been a while since I've had a home cooked meal," I grinned, "I'd love to stay for dinner,"

"Great, I was just going to make pasta, it's nothing too special," She said over her shoulder as she disappeared down the hall.

"If its made by a mom, Mrs. Trager, I consider it home cooked," I joked as Lori and I followed Mrs. Trager back to the kitchen.

Lori just rolled her eyes as she began helping her mom fix dinner, while I set the table. They decided to sit at the table in the kitchen instead of at the dinning room table. Mr. Trager came home from work just as Mrs. Trager had finished preparing the pasta.

"Something smells good," He commented as he entered the kitchen and kissed Mrs. Trager on the cheek.

"You're just in time," Mrs. Trager commented, "Dinner is ready,"

"I see that," he noted, "Are you kids joining us?"

"Yes Sir," I said.

"Well great!" He smiled, "It's been a while since we've had a guest for dinner,"

We all settled around the table and I couldn't help but feel like I was seventeen again and Lori and I were in high school. Mr. Trager passed me the bowl of pasta, which I dished onto my plate, then passed it on to Lori.

"So Declan how have you been settling back into things?" Mrs. Trager asked.

"Since I got back from Afghanistan?" I double-checked and she nodded, "It's been a little weird, but I'm getting used to it."

"I thought that we were beginning to pull out of the war?" Mr. Trager inquired.

"Dad," Lori warned, becoming slightly uncomfortable with the dinner conversation.

"Its fine, they're working on transferring control back over to the Afghans," I explained, "There are still troops over there, however we're getting to a point were troops can be pulled back,"

We continued talking. Lori skillfully transitioned the topic onto something new and from there it continued to roll. I hadn't realized how much I missed the family dinner feel that the Trager's provided. I missed talking to Lori's parents and I didn't care what it was that we talked about. Having this interaction was something that I had never experienced while growing up. It was nice.

"Thank you for dinner Mrs. Trager, it was wonderful," I acknowledged as I stood to help clear the table.

"You're welcome Declan," Mrs. Trager said.

Being polite, Lori and I offered to do the dishes. I was in charge of washing, while Lori dried and put away the dishes. As I rinsed the last plate I ever so slightly flicked the nozzle of the sink hose toward Lori.

"Declan!" She screeched and I laughed.

"Sorry, I just couldn't resist Trager," I smirked.

"Right, I forgot you're actually twelve," She teased with a giggle.

"Oh you love my childish antics," I replied.

"For the most part," She shrugged as she put the last plate away.

"So what now?" She inquired, leaning against the counter.

"How about a walk?" I suggested.

"That sounds nice," She agreed, turning to make her way into the hall to get her coat and shoes.

"So how is Josh liking Udub?" I asked as I matched my pace to hers once we were outside.

"I think he's doing well," Lori shrugged, "its definitely a big adjustment from attending junior college,"

"Did he do that to save money?" I asked, "I thought his grades were decent enough for Udub?"

"He wanted to get his prerequisites out of the way," Lori explained, linking her arm with mine.

I couldn't help but smile slightly as she wrapped her arm around mine. I had missed this close casual interaction that we shared. It was never awkward between us, only natural.

"Well at least he won't be sitting on a pile of debt when he's done," I added, "Especially if he still wants to go to med- school,"

"Surprisingly enough, he still does," Lori mumbled as we approached the park, "I was a little worried that he had given up on that since he and Andy have been so on-again off-again,"

"Long distance can be hard on a relationship," I shrugged, "I'm glad it hasn't effected his school work,"

"Yeah," she agreed, sitting down at a bench as I sat beside her. "What about you? Have you been able to find a job yet?"

"I've been doing some odd-jobs for a contractor," who went by the name of Tom Foss, "Its nothing really too big. The money I get from the Army is what pays the bills,"

"Can't you work on base here?" she questioned.

"I can but I have to transition back into civilian life first," I explained, "So in another three months or so I can work on base,"

That wasn't the whole truth but I figured my accident was a story for another day. I didn't really like talking about it too much and Lori seemed to already have had a rough day thinking of Kyle. I didn't need to make it worse.

"Oh," she said.

"Have you gotten your class schedule yet?" I asked, changing the subject.

"Yep, most of my classes are down town at Udub's satellite campus," She nodded, "I was trying to talk Hills into getting an apartment with me,"

"Hillary's back in Seattle?" I questioned, "I thought she was cooking with the French,"

"She was but now that her internship or apprenticeship, whatever its called, is over she's working at some fancy restaurant down town," Lori informed me.

"Well good for her," I nodded, "I haven't seen her in a really long time,"

It began getting colder as the sun dipped further below the tree line. I felt her shiver beside me.

"We should probably be heading back," I suggested as I stood up.

"I guess we should," She sighed and I smiled.

I drew her close, wrapping one arm around her shoulders as we walked. We were quiet for a moment just enjoying one another's company as we strolled back to the Trager house.

"Declan wait," she stopped me just a few houses down from hers, "I don't want to screw this up,"

"What do you mean?" I didn't follow.

"I feel like you and I have been given a second chance here," she rushed, "And I don't want us to screw it up like we did in high school,"

I stared into her hazel-green eyes and saw all the fear and doubt that had been plaguing her thoughts.

"Trager," I said, stepping closer to her, drawing her chin up as I leaned down, "If I've really been given a second chance with you, there is no way in _hell_ that I'm going to screw it up again,"

Her lips crashed to mine and molded together. I could feel the urgency and excitement that had been building up for the last few weeks between us. I was glade that we had finally broached the subject of our feelings of attraction toward each other. I was also beyond happy to know that she reciprocated the feelings I felt toward her.

**AN: Hello everyone! I noticed a lot of comments about Kyle and whether he will be with Jessi or Amanda in this story. As of right now, I don't want Kyle to be with anyone. Kyle is going through a lot and is dealing with all the choices he has made since he left the Tragers. That doesn't mean that later in the story he won't end up with someone, or that there won't be a flashback to an interaction with Jessi or Amanda. Anyway I hope that clears things up. Thank you for reading and please feel free to comment! **


	7. Chapter 7

Amanda

Amanda (POV)

AUGUST 2014

He had been on my mind all day today. Six years ago today, he and I had been sitting in Lancaster Park where we shared our first kiss. It always brought a smile to my face when I thought about it. Life had been so simple then. The less I knew, the less confused I was and the more I could enjoy my time with him. Now I couldn't help but worry about his safety, wonder where he was in the world, and sometimes if he was even alive. I liked to think that he is somewhere out there making the world a better place.

I was currently working on my master's degree in music composition at Julliard. I had spent the majority of my day finishing up assignments at the library. I hailed a taxi as I left the library with an arm full of books and notes. I requested that the driver take me to my apartment twelve blocks away. I had just moved into a smaller apartment about a month ago, because I wasn't able to afford the two-bedroom apartment that I shared with Lori after she moved back to Seattle. Lori and I had become very close after we both moved to New York once high school was over. We ended up living together all through out college. She's become like a sister to me.

The driver pulled up in front of my apartment building and I paid my fair, then made my way into the building. I took the stairs up four flights to my floor as I fumbled for my keys in my bag.

"Hey there beautiful," he smiled, leaning against my door with a bouquet of lilies.

I had been dating Pete for almost a year now. He couldn't fill the hole that Kyle left in my heart but he managed to ease the pain somewhat. He looked nothing like Kyle. He had short cut sandy blond hair and greenish- brown eyes. His smile was slightly crooked yet cute, as were Kyle's was boyish and charming.

"I thought I was going to meet you at the restaurant," I said as I pecked him on the lips and proceeded to unlock my door.

"I figured I'd surprise you," He said as he followed me into the apartment.

"Well thank you," I smiled, setting my things down, and then wrapping my arms around him to give him a proper kiss.

"These are for you," He said, handing me the flowers in his hand.

"They're lovely," I said as I went into the kitchen to put them in water.

Pete was always doing sweet things like that. He would randomly bring me flowers or come over in the morning with breakfast. It made me feel bad for always comparing him to Kyle.

"You know," Pete started as he came up behind me and wrapped his strong arms around my waist, "We could always just stay here and order in,"

"As much as I would love to, I think my mother would be greatly disappointed in me if we stood her up," I smiled, resting my head on his chest.

"Darn," He sighed, kissing my temple.

"I'm going to go get ready," I whispered as I slipped out of his embrace and disappeared into my bedroom.

My mother was in town on business, and every time she was she expected us to catch up over dinner. The first time she had met Pete she was head over heels with approval of him. It was like Charlie all over again. I had a feeling that if whoever I was with wasn't Kyle, then she would be happy for me. Plus it didn't help that Pete was a first year lawyer either.

I rummaged through my closet in search of something to wear. Given that it was a fairly warm evening out I settled for a nice summer dress. I fixed my hair and reapplied my makeup before brushing my teeth.

"All set sweetheart?" Pete asked, looking up from the baseball game he was watching on the TV.

"Yep," I said.

The restaurant wasn't too far from the apartment so we decided to walk instead of getting a taxi. Pete laced his fingers with mine as we strolled at a leisurely pace. Pete was going on about some big corporate company that his law firm was representing in a settlement. He was very passionate about his job, but I got the feeling he was only in it for the money. We arrived at the restaurant to find my mother already there seated at a table.

"Hello Amanda," She smiled as she stood to give me a hug.

"And hello Peter," She greeted.

We sat down at the table and the waiter came over to take our drink order. My mother was already nursing a rather large glass of what looked to be chardonnay.

"How is school Amanda?" she asked as she glanced over the menu.

"It's keeping me busy," I smiled, "But it's going well,"

"Amanda is so focused on her studies I barely see her," Pete added, taking my hand under the table.

"Well that's good to hear," She approved.

She and Pete delved into a conversation about the corporation that Pete's law firm was representing. He was careful about what information he revealed, however it was some health insurance company that was right in my mother's line of work.

I tuned them out slightly, letting my thoughts wonder. I kept coming back to the time just after Kyle had left. It was after work one night and Declan had asked if we could talk.

FLASHBACK: JULY 2009

I had just counted down the cash register and was about to lock up for the night. As I wiped off the counter I heard the bell above the door chime.

"Sorry we're closed," I said, before I had a chance to glance up to see who had come in, "Oh sorry Declan I didn't realize it was you,"

"That's okay," He shrugged, "Can we talk?"

I found it odd that Declan wanted to talk. I wouldn't really have considered us to be friends seeing as we only knew each other because of Kyle and Lori.

"Sure," I said as I hung up my apron and came around the counter, "What's up?"

"Can we sit?" He asked, gesturing to the nearest table.

I nodded as we took a seat across from each other. I waited for him to begin talking.

"I wanted to talk to you about Kyle," he started and he gained my full attention.

"Have you heard from him?" I asked, sitting forward slightly in my chair.

Kyle had been gone for a month now and no one had heard from him.

"Not exactly," He mumbled, "What I'm about to tell you can't leave this conversation,"

"Of course," I nodded.

"He came to say goodbye to me before he left," He said as he reached into his back pocket and pulled out a crinkled white envelope, "He wanted me to give you this,"

"This is from Kyle," I whispered, I could feel moisture sting my eyes.

"Yeah," he mumbled. I could tell he was unsure of what to say.

"Thank you Declan," I said, just staring at the envelope in my hands, "Did he happen to say anything else?"

"No, not really," He shrugged, "I'll- I'll leave you alone,"

"Okay," I nodded, "If you happen to hear from him-"

"Amanda," He started, "I really shouldn't have even told you about this. It puts you in a lot of danger,"

"Danger?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Read the letter," he whispered before he bowed out of the room.

I don't know how long I sat there for just staring at the envelope contemplating whether or not to open it. I hesitantly tore open the envelope and opened the letter.

_Dear Amanda,_

_ I'm not even sure where to begin. I wish that I could lead a normal life with you in it. I wish that I could be there with you. But having me in your life will only put you in more danger. _

_ Danger that involves very powerful men who were associated with my biological father Adam Baylin. He was the one who created me. I spent 16 years in a gestational pod in a facility known as Zzyzx. They carefully monitored me and allowed me to grow. It's the reason why I can do the things I can, my brain had more time to develop. It wasn't until I began refusing orders that the scientists in charge ordered me to be terminated. If it wasn't for a man named Tom Foss I wouldn't be alive. _

_ I'm sorry; I know all this doesn't really make much sense. I'm trying to give you some answers without putting you in harms way. The less you know the better. I hope that you can forgive me for leaving. It is in everyone's best interest for me to be gone._

_ Love always,_

_Kyle _

He was right about one thing, it didn't make much sense, but I was glad to have some sort of an answer. I sighed as I scanned over the letter; it was crinkled from being in Declan's pocket. I could feel the pen marks from the pressure he placed on the paper while he wrote the letter. A few tears trickled down my cheeks, I was in love with a man that I barely knew, and I had no idea where he was.

END OF FLASHBACK: AUGUST 2014

"Amanda?" Pete nudged me slightly, trying to get my attention.

"Hmm?" I mumbled as I realized my mother had asked me something.

"I was just suggesting that you bring Peter with you when you come home for Christmas," She repeated.

"I hadn't really thought about it," I shrugged, "Christmas is still a few months away,"

"Well I think it would be wonderful," She hinted, taking a sip of her second glass of wine.

"Pete if you're up for it, would you like to celebrate Christmas with my mom and I in Seattle?" I offered, slightly annoyed with my mother for putting me on the spot like that.

"I think that would be nice," he said politely.

I could tell he felt uncomfortable about the situation. I squeezed his hand for reassurance. I never understood why my mother felt the need to put people in awkward situations. I always assumed that it was a power trip for her.

"Wonderful," she smiled as she took another sip of wine.

We had finished with dinner and just sent off the check to be paid. My mother was going on about some story about a lady from her church group. Apparently the lady's husband had cheated on her. Leave it to my mother to know about all the latest church gossip. The waiter came back with the check, Pete took his card and we called it a night. Pete laced his fingers with mine as we strolled back to my apartment.

"Where were you tonight?" He asked as we walked.

"What do you mean?" I asked, slightly confused.

"You barely talked at dinner," He pointed out.

"Oh, I was just thinking," I shrugged, "I get a little tired of listening to my mother talk,"

"What were you thinking about?" He asked, ignoring my reasoning.

"Nothing in particular," I admitted.

"You know Ms. Bloom," He stopped me on the steps to my apartment building, "One day you're going to have to tell me what's going on in that pretty little head of yours,"

"Its not that exciting," I shrugged.

"Really?" He didn't seem too convinced.

I smiled to humor him and craned my neck up to touch my lips to his. I felt bad that I hadn't told him about Kyle. I just didn't feel like he would understand the situation or relationship I had, had with Kyle. I couldn't help but think about how the roles were reversed, I wasn't the one in the dark anymore; I was the one with a secret.

**AN: Hey everyone! Sorry that I didn't post a new chapter last weekend, I've been pretty busy with school. I'll try and post a new chapter every weekend or at least every other weekend. Please feel free to leave a comment and let me know what you think of this chapter! Thank you for reading!**

**[Also, I'm going to start posting pictures on my profile page of actors that I think would play the characters I've created for the story.]**


	8. Chapter 8

Tom Foss

Foss (POV)

FEBRUARY 2013

I waited patiently as the lady, who had slept on my shoulder the entire flight, gathered her things and moved to the aisle. I reached up into the overhead compartment and grabbed my worn brown leather bag that contained only my essentials. The line moved like slow cattle to the front of the plane. It had been years since I had last been to Germany.

"Guten morgen," A blonde haired flight attendant smiled brightly as I stepped off the plane and onto the tarmac.

I found my way through customs where I had my passport stamped then boarded a train that would take me to Landstuhl. I took a seat by a window and stored my bag down by my feet. I watched as the train gradually accelerated out of the station. I began scanning over an English newspaper that I had snagged as I left the airport. From time to time I just gazed out the window, taking in the beautiful scenery as it passed by.

"Nachste Station Landstuhl," came over the P.A.

I folded my newspaper and placed it away in my bag. I departed from the train and tried to gather my surroundings. I scanned the transit map for the best way to get to the medical center. I hopped on the S-Bann that stopped a block away from the hospital.

"Ah…Gut-en… morgen," I tried my best to greet the lady at the front desk.

"You're not from around here," The lady said kindly.

"No," I smiled sheepishly.

"How can I help you?" She asked.

"My nephew is a soldier being treated here," I explained, "His name is Declan McDonough,"

"Right, and your name?" She questioned as she typed Declan's name into the computer.

"Owen Yale," I wanted to fly under the radar as much as possible so I went with the name that was on my fake passport when Declan listed me under his emergency contacts.

"Okay, Andre will take you where you need to go," she said as she waved over an orderly and explained to him in German where I needed to go.

"Danke," I said kindly.

"Bitte," she replied.

I followed closely in toe with the orderly as he looped around the hospital. Without him I would have been turned around and lost with in the first five seconds. He took me up to the fourth floor than pointed me to the nurse's station. I explained to a nurse that I was here to see a soldier and she was very helpful.

"What was his name?" She asked.

Because the hospital dealt with a lot of soldiers from the U.S. a lot of the workers spoke English very well.

"Declan McDonough," I said, leaning against the counter.

"Are you his father?" A doctor, who had been writing something in a chart at the counter, asked.

"Uncle, actually," I corrected with a fib.

"I'm Dr. Stone," He looked to be in his late twenties.

"Owen," I replied, "How's my nephew?"

"He's coming along," he started as he began to advance toward a room, "He and his crew were escorting a red cross team when their Humvee rolled over a road side bomb. Sargent McDonough received the majority of the impact. He was ejected from his seat and flung out of the Humvee."

He explained as he paused outside of what I assumed was Declan's room.

"He has severe burns on his back, a broken clavicle, broken ribs, and a punctured lung,"

"Wow," I sighed, the kid really did a number on himself, "Am I allowed to see him?"

"Yes, he's been in and out of sleep all day," He warned me as he opened the door.

The kid looked like hell. He was fast asleep and didn't even flinch when the doctor did his exam. I took a seat by his bedside. The monitors beeped with an even rhythm and the sedative drip pumped steadily. He had a dark slightly faded bruise from his left temple down to his jaw and small nicks over his face.

"Jeez kid," I sighed, running my hand across my face.

FLASHBACK: AUGUST 2009

I rolled up to the curb just outside of his house in my old truck. I couldn't believe I was actually doing what I was about to do. The last thing I wanted to do was work with the kid. Kyle, however, felt it was best for his family that I did. He felt that Declan would be able to stay close to his family and keep an eye on things from the inside. Those weren't his exact words of course but its what he meant.

"Get in," I ordered through the rolled down passenger window when I saw him leave his house heading straight for his SUV.

"Sorry Foss, I'm not supposed to get in the car with strangers," He mouthed off.

"Look kid," I started, "Kyle seems to think that I need your help,"

"With what?" I could tell his tough guy exterior was slowly melting.

"Looking after his family," I paused, "All Kyle's ever wanted was to keep them safe,"

He hesitated, glancing down at the keys in his hand, then down the street. He stepped closer to the truck, resting his hand on the door.

"And what does helping you out entail exactly?"

"Why don't you get in the car and find out?" I suggested.

I was going out on a limb by not giving him details, but I knew that if he trusted Kyle then he would do as I asked. I could tell he was struggling with the decision as he tentatively opened the door and climbed into the truck. I pulled away from the curb and took him back to the warehouse.

"When I was in the military, we used boxing to deal with any animosities," I explained once we were inside. I tossed him a pair of gloves.

"We're going to box?" He questioned as he examined the beaten up pair of gloves.

"Unless you're afraid that I'll beat you?" I smirked, taking off my jacket and strapping on a pair of gloves.

I could tell he was uneasy but I knew I had struck the competitive nerve in him. He strapped on the gloves.

"Ever boxed before?" I asked, holding up my gloves.

"I think I can figure it out," He smirked, touching his gloves to mine.

I went straight for a jab to his gut, not too hard so as to do damage but hard enough.

"You have to protect yourself," I warned.

He regained his composer and held up his gloves in a protective stance. He attempted a few jabs at me, not landing a single one. I threw another one toward his gut again.

"Damn it!" He cursed, doubled over.

"Focus!" I harked back.

I was starting to bring out his anger. I could see it in his eyes, but there wasn't just anger toward me, there was something else there too. He came flying at me with the rage that was building inside of him. His punches were faster and more tactical.

"Good, come on!" I encouraged.

He was able to land a jab to my jaw hard enough to draw blood. I wiped the blood off of my chin with my forearm. I glanced up at Declan standing there with slight fear in his stance. I smiled shaking my head slowly.

"That," I started as I stepped towards him, "That is what we're here to work on,"

I took off my glove and placed an encouraging hand on his shoulder. Kyle was right, I would need Declan's help in the future, and what he had just done proved to me that I could work with him.

"You did good kid," I mumbled.

END OF FLASHBACK: FEBURARY 2013

I sat by his bedside and looked over my newspaper as I waited for him to come to again. I could see medical personnel go about their day through the window that overlooked the floor. A man in green scrubs with jet-black messy hair came into view. I watched him talk with a nurse then glance over to the room, then slowly advance forward.

"I heard uncle Owen was here for a visit," He smiled slightly as he entered the room.

I stood up and went over to give him a well over due hug. It had been almost two years since I had last seen Kyle.

"It's good to see you Foss," He mumbled as he returned my hug.

"You look good Kyle," I said, stepping back a little.

He looked more and more like Adam as the years passed. He had filled out more; his facial features had become more prominent; there was a five o'clock shadow along his jaw. He definitely wasn't the sixteen-year-old kid that I had pulled from the pod all those years ago. He had been plagued by the troubles of adult hood at a young age and had grown into a man.

"Jessi didn't mention that you were coming here," He said, resting his hands on his hips.

"It was a last minute decision," I shrugged.

With Latnok lurking in the shadows it was always best to not plan things in advance. I had booked my flight two days ago and I had made sure to use one of my many aliases.

"I couldn't let the kid go through something like this alone," I admitted, my eyes adverting his gaze.

"You've gone soft," He mumbled with a slight smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth.

"He's grown on me," I muttered.

The truth was that Declan, Kyle and Jessi were the closest thing I had to a real family. Having looked out for Kyle since the beginning and becoming Jessi's protector and taking Declan under my wing, I had formed a bond with each of them. I would do anything for them and I knew they would do the same for me.

**AN: Hello everyone! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I've been wanting to write from Foss's prospective for a while now. I just wanted to say again that I am going to post pictures of who I think would play character's I've created for the story. Just look for them on my profile. Anyway let me know what you all think! Please feel free to comment!**


	9. Chapter 9

Jessi Emerson

Jessi (POV)

APRIL 2013

I watched the mid morning joggers as they trotted passed along the sidewalk by Lake Michigan. The snow was beginning to melt and the air was starting to feel slightly warmer. I matched my pace to Roy Harper's leisurely stroll. Over the past two months I had spent a lot of time with Roy learning about my mother. He only knew some of my mother's personal life, other than that he only knew about her intellectual side.

"I do remember a conversation I had accidentally overheard," He recalled.

"A conversation?" I questioned.

"It was just before she left," He started, "She was out in the hall just outside my office. From what I could tell she was having a very heated conversation with a man-"

"Adam Baylin," I interjected.

"No, I don't…I don't think that was his name," his eyebrows knitted together in confusion, "She kept referring to the other person as Ryan… or was it Brian,"

"Brian Taylor?" I provided.

"I didn't get a look at the man but I'm almost positive his name was Brian," He concluded, taking a seat on a near by bench.

"What were they talking about?" I questioned further, sitting down beside him.

He was silent for a moment his eyes focused on something in the distance. From what I could tell it was a flock of birds flying far across the lake.

"Hmmm," he hummed, "I'm not exactly sure, she kept repeating 'I can't do this,' 'I'm not fit for this,'"

If she was really talking to Taylor I could only imagine what they were discussing. What was it that she couldn't do? Why was she talking with Taylor in the first place?

"Two weeks later she was gone," He added, folding his hands in his lap.

"I think she was talking with my father," I whispered. The words just rolled off of my tongue.

Talking to Roy was almost like talking with Nicole. I felt like I could trust him, with certain things. I hadn't revealed anything about Latnok or Zzyzx or the experiment or even Kyle. However he did know about my search for Sarah's story as well as her relationship with Brian Taylor and Adam Baylin. As far as he was concerned, they were just two of her friends from school at U-dub.

"Brian, he's your father?" He put together.

"Apparently," I muttered.

"He isn't in your life," He recalled from our first conversation and like our first conversation he asked slightly intrusive questions.

I had grown accustom to this however. It wasn't that big of a deal, it was just who he was.

"No, no he's not," I said, focusing my eyes on a boat that was approaching the marina.

"Do you wish that he was?" He asked.

I was quiet as I thought about it for a moment. Part of me had always wished that things had worked out with Taylor, however I knew that the relationship we had was never that of a father-daughter one.

"No," I started, "The relationship my father and I had was anything but loving,"

"I used to always wonder if Sarah had any family," He said, "She never seemed to talk about them,"

"You know Roy," I began, "In the past two months that we've been talking, I don't think you've talked about your family,"

He chuckled "I'll tell you if we can go get some coffee. I'm freezing my butt off,"

He stood and held out his arm, I couldn't help but chuckle as I linked my arm with his.

"I have two daughters," He started as we meandered away from the lakefront, "Kara married a French architect and is currently living in Paris with their two boys. Alice is a nurse at Mass General and married a doctor, they have two boys and a girl,"

"They sound like they're doing well," I noted, "Do you see them often?"

"They both try to come home for the holidays and I try to visit them during the summer," He replied, holding the door to the nearest coffee shop open.

"That's nice," I commented.

"Have you ever been to France?" He asked after we got our drinks and found an empty table.

"Once," I smiled

FLASHBACK: OCTOBER 2009

I watched the countryside of northern France as it passed by the window of the train. The train was a little older so Kyle and I's seats were in a private room of sorts. Kyle had fallen asleep about an hour into the trip; slowly his body slumped closer to me until his head was resting on my shoulder. I couldn't help but smile as I listened to his even breathing.

It had been almost four months since we had left the Tragers. We had been moving from city to city as a way to fly under Latnok's radar. It was a little overcautious considering we were already in Europe, however according to Foss nothing was overcautious when it came to Latnok. Foss had left us a few weeks ago to fly back to Seattle.

I watched Kyle sleep for a while; he looked so peaceful. Over the past few months he had been having a really hard time with his decision to leave the Tragers. Even when he thought he was doing the right thing, he constantly beat himself up for it.

"What time is it?" He mumbled as he began to stir.

"Almost six," I answered.

"They should be coming around with dinner soon," He noted as he straightened up and stretched his back.

"If you're hungry there is an apple from breakfast in my bag," I offered.

He nodded as he stood up and stretched again. As if on cue there was a nock on the door. I watched Kyle as he spoke French with the lady who was going around with the dinner trolley.

"Sandwich?" He offered holding out a premade sandwich that had been wrapped in plastic wrap.

"Thank you," I said taking the food.

He sat down on the bench across from me and ate his sandwich quietly. I could tell that something was on his mind. He was watching the trees pass by the window, chewing absentmindedly. Ever since I had met up with him and Foss in Portland he had been different. He wasn't the same person he had once been. He didn't have that sparkle or glint of life in his eyes anymore. He was just going through the motions of each day with no emotion.

"Kyle?" I spoke first.

He looked up without saying anything.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"I'm fine," He answered, "Why wouldn't I be?"

"No, I mean are you _okay_?" I tried again.

He was quiet again. I could see everything he didn't say in his eyes. I saw the pain, the sorrow, the loss, the guilt, I saw it all. His emotions were so strong that a small part of me even felt what he felt. I couldn't even imagine the magnitude of what he was feeling.

"Does it get any better?" He finally spoke.

He didn't have to say it. I knew exactly what he was referring to.

"Gradually you think about it less and less," I started, "Eventually you'll come to terms with what you have done,"

"Have you?" He asked.

"I'm still working on that," I whispered.

I saw the contemplation on his face and then for a split second I saw him falter. It was just enough for everything to fall apart. He tried his best to hide the tears by holding his head in his hands and staring at the floor. I rose from my seat and sat down beside him placing a hand on his back. It killed me to see him in this kind of pain. I shifted and wrapped my arms around him.

"It will be okay," I whispered, stroking his hair.

"He was my brother," He murmured into my shoulder.

"I know," I said softly, "I know,"

I held this grown man in my arms as he wept like a child. This was the first time he had broken down since we left. I rubbed small circles on his back trying to clam him. After a while I was just holding him for the sake of it. I wanted to keep him close; it felt good to have him close to me, to feel his heart beat instead of hear it. Eventually he fell back asleep.

END OF FLASHBACK: APRIL 2013

Roy was in the middle of a story about one of his grandchildren. It was nice to have Roy's company. Having someone who knew my mother to help me figure out who she was nice. He may not have known her for long but he knew her personality, he was a pair of fresh eyes in some ways.

"You know," He said, drawing my attention again, "I think I may have an old notebook of your mothers in my office,"

"You do?" I asked, sipping my coffee.

"It's probably not much but-"

"It's something!" I said a little to enthusiastically.

"From what I can tell its just notes on Alzheimer's disease," he said.

"Can I see it?" I asked.

"Of course," He said, "I'll bring it with me tomorrow,"

I smiled, Roy and I had fell into a sort of routine. Every morning we would meet at the lakefront for a morning stroll then get coffee. He taught an afternoon class twice a week, that I would occasionally sit in on. This was the longest I had stayed in one place at a time. I was beginning to get a little agitated, but part of me didn't want to leave Roy. Roy was the closest thing I had to family outside of Kyle and the Tragers.

**AN: Hello everyone! I know this chapter is **_**way**_** over due. I've been really busy with family and school. Anyway I hope you like this chapter and I'll try to update very soon! Please feel free to comment.**


	10. Chapter 10

Lori Trager

Lori (POV)

DECEMBER 2014

It was a slushy mix of rain and snow outside. More so snow than rain so it looked kind of pretty, however it didn't make driving all that fun. Declan and I had pulled into the driveway of my parent's house. Since his dad was spending Christmas in Hawaii with his shockingly young fiancé, Declan was allowed to spend Christmas with us. As I snatched my bag from the back seat of Declan's truck I noticed the Blooms pull up in front of their home with a Douglas fir strapped down to the roof of their car. I took note that Pete was driving, Mrs. Bloom was in the front seat and Amanda was in the back.

"Amanda!" I called as she got out of the car.

"Lori!" She called matching my excitement, meeting me halfway between our houses.

"When did you get in from New York?" I asked, greeting her with a big hug.

"Last night," She answered, "I was actually going to call and see if you wanted to get coffee tonight?"

"That sounds great," I smiled, "I see Pete is with you,"

I nodded over to Pete who was attempting to unload the tree by himself; Mrs. Bloom had completely abandoned him to go in to the warm house.

"Declan," I caught him just before he was about to head inside, "Will you?"

I motioned over to Pete who was struggling with the tree. Declan sighed and made his way over to politely offer a helping hand. I noticed Amanda chuckled slightly at the sight.

"My mom actually ambushed me a little about Pete spending Christmas with us," Amanda admitted in a whisper.

"Ah," I noted, "Your mom still has no boundaries,"

"Not even the slightest," She laughed.

They managed to get the tree inside and Declan came back out with Pete trailing behind him.

"Hey Amanda," Declan greeted before he slipped his arm around my waist.

"You guys-"

"We're back together," I beamed.

"Congratulations," She smiled as Pete joined us after clearing all the rope off of the car.

"Hey Pete," I greeted, "How are you liking Seattle?"

"Its cold and wet," He muttered, I could tell his ego was slightly bruised by Declan helping with the tree.

"So coffee tonight at seven?" Amanda double-checked.

"Sure, the usual place?" I smirked, already knowing the answer.

"Of course," she said.

We parted and found our way into our own homes. Declan and I shrugged out of our wet jackets and hung them up on the hooks in the hallway.

"So that's Amanda's boyfriend?" Declan commented.

"Yeah that's Pete," I said.

"Kyle was better," He smiled sheepishly.

"Pete's not so bad," I tried.

"He couldn't even lift the tree off the car," He retorted, "He probably grew up with Mommy and Daddy's help doing everything for him,"

"Oh look who's talking didn't you have a maid growing up," I pointed out.

"Yes, but I've seen war," He grinned triumphantly.

"I thought I heard you kids out here," Mom called as she made her way through the hall from her office to us, "Stephen! Lori and Declan are here!"

I could hear his heavy footsteps make their way to the top of the stairs before he descended down them.

"Where is Josh?" I asked.

"Andy was able to post pone her flight till this evening so he is spending the day with her," Mom explained as we migrated into the kitchen.

"He'll be here later this evening," Dad added, "So it looks like its just you and me and a lot full of trees,"

It was our little Trager family tradition that Dad, Josh and I went and picked out a tree while Mom stayed home to wrap gifts and bake some cookies.

"Well Declan can take Josh's place?" I offered.

"Why don't you and your Dad go," Declan suggested, "You guys could use some quality time alone,"

"Are you sure?" I checked.

"Yeah, I'm sure," He smiled.

"Well lets get going then," Dad interjected.

"We'll see you guys in a couple hours," I said over my shoulder as I left to get my coat and shoes.

He and I drove to the same Christmas tree lot that we go to every year. It was a small family owned business. We pulled into an empty parking space and climbed out of the car.

"What are we looking for this year?" Dad asked as he linked his arm to mine.

"I'll know it when I see it," I replied as we strolled down the aisle of big bushy trees.

We quietly looked at each of the trees as we leisurely walked. They were either too tall or too short or too bushy or too skinny. It was difficult to find just the right one.

"You and Declan huh?" He tried his best to start the conversation.

"Me and Declan, what?" I replied.

"You really like him?" He asked.

"I really do," I admitted, "Do you still not approve of him?"

"I may not have really approved of him when you two were in high school. Now that you guys are older and more mature, I can see that his intentions are to do what ever is best for you," He rambled as he tried to explain his feeling toward Declan.

"Plus he isn't your T.A," I joked.

"Yes that too," he chuckled, "Now what about this tree?"

It was beautiful; the branches were symmetrical on both sides, it flowed evenly from top to bottom, it was perfect.

"This is it," I beamed up at the tree.

Dad flagged down one of the workers to help him wrap the tree and strap it down to the roof of the car. Once it was all secure and paid for we headed back to the house. It was nearing five o'clock and the sun was beginning to disappear behind the mountains. We pulled up into the driveway and Declan came out to help Dad with the tree.

"A little to the left," I commented as the boys adjusted to tree in the family room, "Okaaaaay…. Stop!"

"That's good?" Declan double-checked.

"Yep," I grinned.

Dad stepped out of the room to help mom bring boxes of ornaments down from the attic. Declan dusted off the pine needles from his pants and stepped toward me.

"Merry Christmas Trager," He smirked as he wrapped his arms around me.

"Merry Christmas McDonough," I touched my lips to his.

Mom and dad rejoined us and we put a few ornaments up on the tree. While Christmas music played in the background. Declan and I left shortly after to go meet Amanda and Pete at the Rack. I joined Amanda at the table by the window that she was holding for us while the boy got our coffees.

"How have things been with Pete and your mom?" I asked, watching the boys make awkward conversation while they waited in line.

"She still adores him," Amanda rolled her eyes, "She hasn't stopped hinting about engagement rings and wedding dresses,"

"She's anything but subtle," I chuckled, "How have you been having him here?"

"Pete is so _good_ for me," She started

"But?" I added.

"Kyle," She finished.

Before she had a chance to say anything further the boys came and joined us at the table. Declan took the chair next to mine and casually rested his arm on the back of my chair.

"Have you ever been to Seattle Pete? Before now," Declan asked as he sipped his coffee.

"No, I've been a little further north though," Pete replied, "My family and I go skiing every year at North Cascade Heli,"

"Mmmm," Declan mumbled.

Declan and Pete continued to try to make conversation while Amanda and I chatted away. It was nice to catch up with Amanda. It had almost been six or so months since we had an in person conversation. We usually only caught up on the phone.

As we sat and talked I couldn't help but feel that something was missing. More so that some_one_ was missing. I knew it was Kyle. It should have been Kyle sitting beside Amanda with his arm resting along her shoulders, not Pete.

**AN: Hello everyone! I hope you all had a Merry Christmas! I thought that you all would enjoy a holiday themed chapter. Anyway let me know what you all think!**


	11. Chapter 11

Kyle Trager

Kyle (POV)

MAY 2013

After months of rehabilitation, skin graphs, and extensive exams Declan was diploid back to the States. He was going to have a lot of work ahead of him in order to regain full strength of his upper body. Foss had also headed back to the States; he had been here a total of sixty-four days and he had been itching to get back home. It had been nice to have them here; of course the circumstances weren't ideal. A large part of me missed having people who knew the true me around.

I sat by the window in my studio apartment, which overlooked the city, and waited for a video chat call from Jessi. We had planned on talking around this time and I was waiting for her to come online. I fiddled around online looking at various medical articles. Before I knew it a video chat offer from Jessi popped up on my laptop.

"Hey there," I smiled, seeing her face light up slightly at the sound of my voice.

"Hey," She mused.

"Still in Chicago?" I gathered from the street noise that her computer picked up.

"Yeah I'm still working with Roy to get more information about my mom," She explained.

"Found anything interesting?" I asked, leaning forward to grab my mug of coffee from the table.

"Apparently she was pregnant before she left in 89'," Jessi informed me as she riffled through a stack of papers.

"Pregnant?" I questioned, "How did you find that out?"

"Roy had some old notes of hers and between a few of the pages I found a sonogram," She explained, "Roy also over heard her arguing with a man just before she left too. I think it was Brian, who else would it have been?"

She was rambling quiet a bit. I couldn't help but worry about this Roy that she was getting all this information from. Did he really know Sarah? Was he somehow related to Latnok? Was he really looking out for Jessi's best interest?

"So where are you going to go from here?" I asked.

"I'm not sure," She admitted, "There is a name of a clinic on the back of the sonogram. I thought about looking into that,"

"Why don't I come help you?" I suggested.

"You'd come to Chicago?" Her eyebrows knit together, "What about the hospital?"

"Well with Declan having been here people are starting to ask questions about my past," I explained, "Its probably a good time for me to move on,"

"I would love it if you came to Chicago," She smiled honestly, "I'm getting kind of tired of only talking to you online,"

"Really?" I doubled checked and she nodded, "I'll have Foss send me some new information,"

"I should get going," she added, "I'm supposed to meet Roy soon,"

"Okay," I commented, "I'll try and let you know what I get worked out with Foss,"

"Alright," She said, "Good night Kyle,"

"Good afternoon Jess," I winked with a smile.

I leaned back in my chair and thought about our conversation. If I did go to Chicago to visit Jessi it would be the first time I would be in the confines of the continental U.S. There was a lot to consider. I had thought about going back home a thousand times, granted going to Chicago wouldn't be home. I ran my hands through my hair thinking about the situation.

I started making the necessary preparations for leaving; I got in contact with Foss and was able to hear back from him within the hour. He booked my tickets under one of the various aliases he had created for me over the years. He made the flight plan more difficult than a normal plan however he wanted to be safe. I wrote my letter of resignation for the hospital that I would be turning in to my chief in the morning.

I was really doing this, I was really going to set foot in the one place I had considered to be off limits for the past few years. I sighed and shook my head as I got up from my computer and turned out the lights and got into bed. It was three o'clock in the morning and I would have to be up in two hours to get a training session in before work.

TWO WEEKS LATER

I flipped the visor up on the window and peered out at the skyscrapers below as the plane descended onto the tarmac at the Chicago airport. I waited patiently for the seat belt sign to go off as the plane touched down on the runway. Once the plane pulled into the gate people began to slowly make their way to the front of the plane and exit. I had already cleared customs in Dallas, Texas so all I had to do was grab my bag and leave. I flagged down a taxi once I was outside the airport. I had the man take me to a hotel in the city where I booked a room.

I paused outside on the sidewalk for a moment and listened to the city around me. It was strange to be completely surrounded by people speaking English. I had gotten so used to hearing German from living in Germany for so long. It was the middle of the afternoon and people were hurriedly going about their own business. I fell into the flow of people and made my way across town to where Jessi lived.

I stopped short outside a very run down apartment building to double check that I had the right address. I looked at the paper that I had written the address from Foss on and looked up at the building. The building looked to be abandoned. I listened carefully to see if I could hear Jessi inside. I breathed a sigh of relief when I realized she was indeed inside. I pushed open the heavy metal door.

"Taking after Foss?" I called as I made my way inside.

"Kyle!" She called back as she appeared from one of the rooms, "You didn't tell me you were coming,"

"You know Foss, he likes to get things taken care of fast. I didn't really have the chance to tell you," I explain as I gave her a hug.

I stepped back and peered around the room. From what I could tell someone had demolished the walls between what I assumed was three separate apartments. Jessi had set up a training area in one corner of the room and what looked like a surveillance area in the opposite corner. There was a small room that I assumed was the bathroom and a bed set up next to it.

"Wow, did you have Foss's design crew come in?" I teased.

"Hey," She started, "Foss has the right idea. The simpler a place is the less noticeable it is,"

"Right," I chuckled.

"So how long are you in town?" she asked, getting a bottle of water from the small fridge in the make shift kitchen.

"I'm not sure," I admitted as I sat down on one of the fold out chairs at the small card table.

She joined me at the table and was quiet for a moment; I could tell she was thinking about something. I could feel that she was nervous about something.

"Jess," I started as I reached out and took her hand, "Is everything okay?"

"That obvious?" She smiled.

I nodded for her to continue.

"You're probably not going to like this…" She paused.

"Like what?" I took a deep breath.

"I contacted Brian Taylor," She finally spat out.

"Taylor?" I questioned, "The guy who almost killed you just so he could get back in with Latnok,"

"Kyle," She warned, "He is the only one who is still_ alive_ that knew Sarah,"

She was so desperate to find out about her mother, it killed me to see her like this. I could only understand a fraction of what she was going through. I knew Adam, I had his journals, and I knew his past. Jessi on the other hand basically only knew Sarah's name.

"Okay," I said calmly, "Okay, I want to be with you if you decide to meet him,"

She nodded, "Okay, thank you,"

As much as I didn't trust nor like Taylor, I knew that he might be of some use in Jessi's search for her mother. If she was willing to put aside her feelings toward Taylor than I guess I could as well.

**AN: Hey everyone! I hope you all are enjoying the New Year! I also hope that you like this chapter. Please feel free to comment with any ideas, concerns, and questions, its all welcome! Thank you for reading!**


	12. Chapter 12

Kyle Trager

Kyle (POV)

JUNE 2013

I had been in Chicago for a few weeks now. I woke up early and went for a ten-mile jog before I came back to my hotel room to shower and get ready for the day. I wrapped one of the white fluffy hotel towels around my waist and proceeded to shave off the growth of hair that had accumulated on my face over the last week or so. I ran my hand across the smooth skin as I applied after-shave. I got dressed in a black button up shirt and a pair of dark wash jeans. As I was putting on my socks my burner phone that Foss had given me started ringing.

"Hello?" I answered. Only three people in the world had this number.

"Kyle," I recognized the deep rough voice.

"Foss," I replied.

"I wanted to call and check in," He started, "I hadn't heard anything since you left Germany,"

"I've been trying to lay low," I informed him as I began straightening up the room a little, "I made it to Chicago. I've been staying at a hotel. I have also met with Jessi,"

"Have you noticed any signs of Latnok?" he questioned.

"No, but I want you to look into a few things for me," I started as fastened my watch to my wrist, "Jessi has been getting a lot of information on Sarah from a _Roy Harper_,"

"You don't think he's a good guy?" Foss interrupted.

"I haven't met him yet, I'm actually supposed to meet both of them for breakfast. But you know how trusting Jessi can be when it comes to getting information about her mother," I reminded him.

"Right, I'll look into it," He assured, "Is there anything else?"

"Have you heard from Bryan Taylor lately?" I asked.

"Not since I gave him that one way ticket. Why has he made contact with you?" Foss panicked slightly.

"No not me. Jessi is considering making contact with him. She's really desperate to find out about Sarah," I informed him as I peered out the window at all the skyscrapers.

"So desperate that she would contact the man who pushed her far beyond her limits?" His voice was slightly elevated.

"I don't like it either," I sighed, "Will you look into his whereabouts?"

"Of course. Keep an eye on Jessi. You being out there may be more good than either of us expected," he mumbled.

"Hopefully. Let me know if you find anything interesting," I said.

"I will. Bye Kyle,"

Before I could say bye he had already hung up. I chuckled somewhat at how routine Foss was. I gathered my things in my bag and headed out for the day. I turned down Michigan avenue and continued by foot for about ten minutes until I reached the restaurant that Jessi had directed me to meet her at. Once I was inside I scanned the crowd until I spotted her sitting at a table with an older gentleman.

"Kyle!" She waved me over as I approached the table.

"Sorry I'm late," I mumbled as I leaned down to give her a hug.

"Oh don't worry about it," She brushed it off, "Roy this is my friend that I wanted you to meet, Kyle. Kyle this is Roy,"

"It's nice to meet you," I extended my hand as I took a seat.

"It's a pleasure to meet you as well," He smiled politely.

The waitress came over and took our orders. Then Jessi and Roy began talking about Sarah. I sat quietly analyzing Roy. His demeanor never faltered, he never stammered, or gave off any nervous habit. From what I could tell he was being truthful the whole time.

"I looked into the clinic that was on the back of the sonogram and found out that they lost a lot of their patient files when the transferred over to digital charts," Jessi said as she sipped her tea.

"Have you thought about talking to your father?" Roy brought up.

"I don't think that's the best idea for Jessi," I interjected.

Roy seemed slightly taken aback by my statement.

"Kyle, was there when I first lived with Brian," Jessi provided, trying to ease the slight tension that I had caused.

"Oh," Roy started, "I didn't realize you guys had know each other that long,"

"Jessi and I have known each other since…we were kids," I fibbed a little, catching Jessi's glance.

"I've already told Jessi everything that I could think of when it comes to Sarah," Roy informed me.

His heart fluttered some what as if he was nervous or lying. I shared a glance with Jessi to see if she noticed but she hadn't. She must not have been paying attention to his heart rate. I didn't want to bring it up and scare him away, for all I knew he was keeping something from Jessi for her own good. The waitress came back with our meals and we ate.

"Kyle what work is it that you do?" Roy asked trying to keep up a conversation.

"I'm a doctor," I went with my latest profession.

"A doctor," He mused, "Well I must say I do approve Jessi,"

"Oh, no, Roy," She started, "Kyle and I are just friends,"

"Right, that is what my daughters used to say all the time," Roy smirked a smile that only an old man could.

We finished up our meals and paid our tabs and made our way out. Roy excused himself saying he had a meeting with one of his students. Which left Jessi and I to ourselves for the rest of the day.

"Roy seems like a good man," I commented as we strolled through one of the busy streets of Chicago.

"I know you've been worried about me," Jessi pointed out, "Roy's been making it easier. It's been great having him help me figure out my mother,"

"And he's told you _everything_ he knows?" I double-checked, "You've made sure that he's been honest with you?"

"Roy has given me no indication to not trust him," Jessi assured me.

"Okay," I nodded as we walked, "What do we do now?"

"As far as my mother," She started, "The only thing left, that I can think of doing, would be to contact… Brian,"

"You know how I feel about that, but I'm not going to stop you," I sighed, "I just want to be a part of what ever you chose to do,"

"Thank you Kyle," She smiled sincerely.

Jessi and I spent the rest of the day playing tourist and just letting ourselves forget about anything that plagued out thoughts. We had visited the John Hancock building and Navy Pier. We ended our night with famous deep-dish pie from one of the popular pizza places. After we finished our meal, I walked Jessi back to her apartment.

"I haven't had this much fun in the last six months that I've been here," She smiled, "Thank you Kyle,"

"I had a lot of fun too," I replied, "It's nice being back,"

"I'll see you tomorrow?" She asked once we were at her doorstep.

"Of course," I smiled, "I'll be here around nine?"

"I'll see you then," She said as she unlocked her door, "Good night Kyle,"

"Good night," I nodded, taking the steps down to the sidewalk.

I checked my watch and noted that it wasn't too late. I made a detour on my way back to the hotel. I took the train to Northwester University; it was a long shot, seeing as I had no idea if Roy would even still be there. Once I was on campus I was able to find the science building, which led me to his classroom. I saw his light was still on in his office.

"I was hoping you would still be here," I made my presence known as I lingered in the doorway.

"Kyle?" He inquired a little surprised, "What…ah…what can I do for you?"

"Well I wanted to talk to you about Jessi," I started, "I kind of got the feeling that there was something you weren't telling us,"

"What do you mean?" His heart rate climbed.

"There is more to the story of Sarah isn't there?" He was about to speak when I cut him off, "You should also know that I have an uncanny ability to tell when a person is lying,"

He was quiet as if he was contemplating what to say. He set his notes aside and removed his classes, rubbing his eyes. He sighed before speaking.

"I was actually surprised that I would be able to keep this from Jessi for as long as I have," He commented as he rose from his seat, "I've known Sarah since she was a little girl,"

"How?" I asked calmly.

"She was my niece," He said, his eyes meeting my gaze.

"Your niece?" I questioned.

"Sarah's mother was my sister," He clarified, "I didn't even know that Jessi existed until a few months before Sarah died. I didn't even know that Sarah had died until Jessi came to me asking questions about her mother,"

I paid extra close attention to his heartbeat for any variation. I scrutinized his face for any indication of him being deceitful, however I found none.

"Why didn't you tell Jessi this from the beginning?" I asked.

"To be honest I'm not quite sure," He sighed, "I guess I wanted to get to know her first, for her to trust me, before I unloaded this on her,"

"You have to tell Jessi everything that you know about Sarah," I said sternly, "All she's ever wanted is a solid connection to her mother,"

"I know," He nodded, "I see so much of Sarah in Jessi, it's remarkable,"

Before I left I told him that if he didn't tell Jessi than I would be forced to. I took the train back into the city and got off a few blocks away from the hotel. It was a considerably warm evening, the fresh air felt nice. Being in such a crowded city had made me feel slightly claustrophobic, I tried to spend as much time as I could in the fresh air.

JANUARY 2015

I paused just outside the Foss's warehouse; I steadily approached the door, pausing outside to listen closely to the person inside. From the heartbeat I could tell there were three men inside. I recognized two of them to be Foss and Declan; I couldn't quite pinpoint the last one. The beat was familiar, but I still couldn't match it to anyone that I knew. I listened to the breathing of the man to get an accurate location of him in the room. From what I could tell he was standing near Foss and Declan toward the center of the room. I pushed open the heavy metal door.

"Kyle," I Foss looked up to see me walking towards him, "I want to introduce you to someone,"

Stopped short once I reached the table that they had been hovering over.

"Kyle this is Wyatt Baylin," He paused, "Adam Baylin's half brother,"

"I've waited a long time to meet you Kyle," The man, who looked to be in his early forties, extended his hand to me, I took note that he was wearing a Latnok ring.

"I'm sorry," I apologized, "Adam never mentioned that he had a brother. The only family I knew of was his mother who died during child birth,"

"Right," he nodded.

His appearance was strikingly similar to Adam's; he had blue eyes and short dark brown hair with flecks of grey.

"Wyatt has been our eye's and ears with the Latnok board since Adam stepped down," Foss informed me.

"It's nice to meet you," I commented, "I have a feeling that there is a reason you chose now to introduce yourself to me,"

"There is," He nodded, "I was just discussing with Tom and Declan here about Latnok's most resent activities,"

"Activities?" I questioned.

"They've started the experiment again," He said blatantly.

"I destroyed the formula years ago," I pointed out.

"Kyle you really underestimate the will power of the board members at Latnok," He sighed, his voice full of remorse, "They have billions of dollars and some of the most intelligent minds at their disposal. They recreated the formula,"

I looked to Foss for confirmation and he simply nodded. Latnok was once again making attempts to play God.

"How far are they in the experiment?" I asked. I could hear the sternness in my own voice rise.

I could see Wyatt's face fall slightly, "They have one viable subject, a boy, 52 weeks into gestation, and a result of _your_ DNA,"

"What's our plan?" I asked glancing between each of the men.

**AN: Hello everyone! I know it's been a really long time since I've updated. Sorry about that. Right now I'm working on merging the two time lines that I have. I am trying to find a way to coherently bring the time line that Jessi and Kyle have been centered in, to the same time period as the one Declan and the rest of the Tragers have been centered it. I hope to see that in the next couple of chapters. Anyway thanks for reading and please comment!**


	13. Chapter 13

Declan McDonough

Declan (POV)

Early JANUARY 2015

I stared up at the dark ceiling hoping for sleep to come. It had been about an hour since I had woken up from a flash back. For some reason I was having more and more of them, I just couldn't seem to shake them. The flash back would always start out the same; white noise would fill my ears as I saw medics fluttering around me, my fellow comrades strewn around me groaning in pain. Then I would come to the realization of what had happened and the pain of my injuries would hit me and cause me to snap out of it. In that split second, between realizing my pain and waking up, the pain was excruciating. Sometimes when I wake up, I have to check to make sure that there isn't shrapnel in my chest.

I flung my blanket off and swung my legs off of the side of the bed. It was nearing five thirty in the morning. I rubbed my shoulder as I walked out of my bedroom in my small apartment and went to the kitchen to get a glass of water. I tried my best to rub the exhaustion from my eyes and went about my morning routine. I poured myself a bowl of cereal and a mug of coffee. Then I put on my jogging clothes and shoes before I headed out for my run.

My apartment is about a mile from Foss's fortress of solitude; where I jog to every morning for a training session. I always kept an eye out to make sure that I was never being followed. Sometimes I would change up my route just to be cautious. I looped around the buildings until I arrived at the right run down building. I pushed open the heavy metal door and entered the warehouse.

"Foss!" I called out.

"You're early," He grumbled back as he made his way down from the loft that he considered his personal space.

"I know," I nodded, "I woke up early and couldn't fall back asleep so I figured I'd get a head start on my day,"

"Alright," He said, "Why don't we work on combat training,"

"My favorite," I smirked.

We dragged out a few old mats and strapped on some gloves. Foss held up his fists in a protective stance. I mimicked his actions. We circled each other, planning out our next move. I went for the first attack by going for a jab to the gut. Foss was quick though, deflecting my punch, and retaliating with a slug to my face. I ducked out of his swing and locked my shin behind his flipping him onto his back.

"You're getting better," He groaned.

"Thanks," I mumbled, lending him a hand to help him off the floor.

We fell straight back into our sparring stance. This time he was the first to make a move, throwing a hook to my face. I deflected his punch by bringing my gloves to my face. In doing so, I left my abdomen vulnerable. Foss took advantage of that and jabbed me right in the gut. I buckled over and groaned. He chuckled as I recollected myself. We continued this cat and mouse game for the better part of two hours.

"You're shoulder seems to be getting better," He commented as he grabbed two water bottles from the mini fridge in the makeshift kitchen he had created.

"It's not as stiff anymore," I informed him, wiping off the sweat from my face.

It was nearing eight o'clock when we heard the metal door open.

"Expecting someone?" I asked, slightly confused.

"Yes actually," He replied as he passed me on his way to the door.

"Wyatt," I heard him greet.

"Tom," I heard the man reply before he made his way into my line of sight.

He looked to be in his early forties, tall, thin, dark brown hair and blue eyes.

"Declan," Foss waved me over, "This is Wyatt Baylin,"

"Declan McDonough," I reached out to shake his hand.

"It's nice to meet you," He said politely accepting my handshake.

When he did so I noticed that he was wearing a Latnok ring.

"Latnok?" I questioned, my eyes fixed on his ring.

"Wyatt has been our eyes and ears with the Latnok board since Adam stepped down," Foss informed me, "He's Adam's half brother. We can trust him,"

"I take it you're the reason why we've been able to fly under the radar," I smirked.

"I have had some part in keeping the board at bay," He nodded, "I actually wanted to talk to you guys about some of Latnok's most resent activities,"

"Right," Foss nodded, "It's obviously important if you felt meeting in person was necessary,"

"They've started up the experiment again," Wyatt stated, a serious mask taking over his face.

"Do they have a viable subject?" Foss asked in a detached voice.

He sounded like one of the stuffy scientists who had no regard to human life.

"Yes, one clone 49 weeks gestation," Wyatt informed.

"Clone?" I questioned.

"The board made the collective decision to use Kyle's DNA for cloning,"

"They only have one clone?" Foss inquired next as we gathered around one of the empty tables.

"Creating a subject costs a fair amount of money," Wyatt paused, "They want to make sure they have everything just right before they begin mass production,"

"_Mass production_?" I scuffed, "Who do they think they are? These are children we're talking about!"

"Unfortunately most of our members have lost sight of the original intent of Latnok," Wyatt sighed, "They've forgotten that we were intended to do more good than harm in the world,"

"You said most?" Foss pointed out.

"There are some members who I have found to be trustworthy," Wyatt nodded, pulling a flash drive from his coat pocket, "I encrypted this with a list of four names that may come in handy,"

"What are you planning on doing exactly?" I questioned.

"I think it's time that Kyle comes out of hiding," Wyatt put it simply, "He's our only chance at rescuing the subject-"

"The _child_," I interrupted, causing Foss to glance at me.

"The child," Wyatt corrected.

"We can work out the details later," Wyatt brushed off, "Right now I need you both to work on getting Kyle back here,"

"We'll take care of it," Foss assured.

Wyatt excused himself saying that he had a meeting to attend. I sat down on an old wooden bench and tried to wrap my mind around the idea of mass cloning that Latnok was planning. I couldn't help but feel history repeating itself all over again.

"How are we going to get Kyle to agree to come out here?" I questioned, "You know he would never put the Tragers or Amanda at risk by doing that,"

"I know," Foss acknowledged, "I'll take care of it,"

"Is there anything you need me to do?" I asked.

"Just keep an extra eye on the Tragers," Foss ordered, "As for right now just continue on with your day,"

"Okay, I'll see you tomorrow," I nodded before leaving the warehouse and jogging back to my apartment.

I circled around the warehouse district taking the long way back to my apartment. Once there, I rode the elevator up to the thirty- fifth floor and unlocked the door to my apartment. I headed straight for the shower. I took a slightly longer shower, letting the hot water relax my tight muscles. I lathered the soap across my chest and paused, my fingers tracing the contours of my scar. A flash of the medic's face appeared in my mind. There was nock at the front door. I quickly rinsed off and wrapped a towel around my waist.

"I'm coming!" I called as I made my way to the door.

"Hey," I smiled, opening the door to Lori, "I thought you weren't going to be here till one,"

"I had a few errands to run in town and figured I would just come over," She explained.

I stepped aside letting her in. She had an arm full of groceries that she took to the kitchen.

"You know I have food here," I reminded her.

"A box of cereal and some left over pizza isn't really food," She countered as she put away a few of the items.

"Okay well I'm going to go finish getting ready," I kissed her on the cheek before I left the kitchen.

As I walked away I could feel her staring at the burns on my back. It hadn't been long since I told her about what had happened in Afghanistan. She still wasn't fully used to seeing my scars. I think part of it scared her to know that I had been injured. I went back to my bedroom and got dressed in a red plaid shirt and jeans.

"How was your morning?" She asked as I came up behind her and wrapped my arms around her.

"It was fine," I mumbled, "I went for a run, then I worked out with an old friend,"

"From the army?" She asked.

"Yeah," It wasn't a complete lie; Foss had been in the military at one point in his life.

"Do you still talk to any of the guys you served with?" She asked. I knew she was only trying to get a feel for what my life was like while I was over seas.

"Sometimes," I mumbled, "Only one of the guys live in Seattle,"

She nodded against my chest.

"Should we get going?" I asked. We had plans to meet Hilary for lunch.

"I suppose," She sighed dramatically, "Apparently Hills is introducing us to someone,"

"Oh really?" I chuckled as I put my shoes and coat on, "This is what? Guy number four now?"

"I just wish that she would find someone that truly cares about her," Lori commented as we left the apartment and rode the elevator down to the parking garage where my truck was.

"She didn't find anyone while she was in France?" I asked, turning on the car and pulling out of the space.

"She did, but I guess they broke up when she moved back to Seattle," Lori informed me.

"Oh well, maybe this guy will be it then," I said as I drove to the restaurant.

We arrived at the restaurant and made our way inside to find that Hillary had already gotten us a table.

"Hey Hills," I greeted her with a hug.

"Leclan!" She cheerfully greeted us with her nickname that she had dubbed us.

"Where's the new guy you were talking about on the phone?" Lori asked as we sat down at the table.

"He is on his way," She informed us, "He's just running a little late,"

"Well then I'm going to run to the bathroom," Lori excused herself.

"So military muffin," Hillary started once Lori was gone, "When are you going to make her your Mrs. Muffin?"

"Wow you just jump right in don't you?" I chuckled as I took a sip of my water.

"Have I ever been one to beat around the bush?" She countered.

"No not really," I nodded.

"So lets not avoid the question muffin," She reminded me.

"I don't know," I admitted, "I want to ask her, but I don't want to rush anything,"

"Hmmm," She mused, "well when you do decide to put a ring on her finger, I definitely want to help!"

"Don't worry Hillary I wouldn't go to anybody else," I chuckled.

"Wouldn't go to anybody else for what?" Lori questioned as she rejoined us at the table.

"Nothing, we were just talking about…" I trailed off trying to come up with an answer.

"Cooking lessons!" Hillary provided a little bit too enthusiastically.

Before Lori could question it any further Hillary's new boyfriend found his way to our table.

"Jean- Luc!" Hillary waved him over.

"Jean-Luc, this is my best friend Lori and her boyfriend Declan. Guys this is Jean- Luc," She introduced us as he sat down next to Hillary at the table.

"I've heard so much about you guys," Jean- Luc commented in a thick French accent, "I'm glad to finally meet you both,"

"How did you guys actually meet?" I asked as we looked over our menus.

"Jean- Luc and I attended the same cooking school in France," Hillary explained.

"Oh wow, I didn't realized you were _the_ Jean- Luc," Lori commented, "Hillary hasn't stopped talking about you since she got back from France,"

Hillary blushed and the waitress came by and took our orders. We continued talking and getting to know each other. From what I could tell this guy seemed really good for Hillary. He seemed to want what was best for her. We talked about how we knew Hillary, things from high school, and anything that seemed to pop in the conversation. Before we knew it, almost three hours had passed and our meals were long gone.

"We should probably get going," Hillary whispered to Jean- Luc, "He has an early flight in the morning,"

"I came here to finalize a job opportunity and now I have to go back to France to take care of a few things," Jean- Luc explained.

"Congratulations on the job!" Lori said, "We should get going too then,"

We said our goodbyes and went our separate ways.

"Are you coming back to my place?" I asked as we walked to my truck.

"Hmmm that does sound tempting," Lori admitted as we approached the truck.

I stopped her from going and climbing into the passenger side by wrapping my arms around her. I leaned down and touched my lips to hers. As I pulled back I starred into her lovely green eyes and smiled.

"I love you Trager," I whispered.

"I love you too, McDonough," She beamed up at me.

**AN: Hey everyone! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! It was kind of nice to write from someone else's perspective again. Please let me know what you think! Thanks for reading!**


	14. Chapter 14

Kyle Trager

Kyle (POV)

APRIL 2015

I had bought a small piece of land in the North Cascades of Washington state just on the boarder of Canada. I had decided to build a house to keep myself busy. I had read every _'do it yourself'_ book on building houses and all legal codes for the state of Washington.

I pulled up to the land and cut the engine of my beat up faded blue pick up truck. I climbed out and grabbed my tools and supplies from the bed of the truck. I had already set the foundation and was currently working on the framework of the house. I had started building in late March and things seemed to be coming along.

I wasn't planning on building a huge house. Just a place that I could have to myself that was somewhat close to Seattle without being too close to Seattle. The draw to be close to my family was getting stronger and stronger as the days went by. I knew it wasn't safe to live in Seattle. That was why I had Foss take care of all the contracting that went into purchasing the land. I didn't want to send any red flags by purchasing land in my own name.

I had spent the majority of the day working on the framework I would have to start on the plumbing and electrical work within the next week or so. I was cutting down a two by four when I heard his truck roll up behind me.

"Kyle!" He called as he climbed out of his truck.

"Declan," I said as I shut off the saw and advanced toward him, "Foss didn't tell me you were coming up here,"

"It was a last minute trip," He said as he gave me a hug and patted my back, "Wow you're really starting to take after Foss,"

I knit my eyebrows together in confusion.

"That's quite the beard," He added.

"There's no one out here but me," I shrugged, scratching my head.

"Right," He nodded, "You couldn't convince Jessi to come out here with you?"

"She wanted to spend some time with Roy," I explained as turned to my tool kit and rummaged for a spare pair of gloves, "Since you came all the way out here, do you mind giving me a hand?"

"Sure thing," He smiled, taking the gloves.

We didn't talk much at first, just focused on the work at hand. I took note that he didn't seem to be in much pain. His shoulder seemed to have healed well. As the afternoon dragged on we continued working. When we finally stopped for a break I went to my truck and grabbed the cooler of food I had packed.

"Here," I mumbled handing him a sandwich, "I hope you don't mind salami and cheese,"

"I'm good with just about any food," He chuckled.

We sat down on the edge of the foundation that overlooked the valley of forest below. The main reason I picked this land was for the view. Declan was the first to break the silence.

"Lori and I are back together," He mumbled as he bit into his sandwich.

"Congratulations," I smiled, "Promise to look after her?"

"Always," He mumbled, "She really misses you, you know? They all do,"

"I miss them too," I admitted, "I'm trying to do what's best for them,"

"Is this really what is best for them?" He countered.

"Latnok hasn't made any attempts against them thus far," I pointed out.

"That doesn't mean they're not still playing God, Kyle," He spoke as if he knew something.

"Is there something that I don't know?" I questioned as I took a sip of my water.

"Do you know who Wyatt Baylin is?" He asked as he finished off his sandwich.

"No," I simply said.

"He's Adam's half brother," He paused, "Apparently he's been our eyes and ears at Latnok for a while,"

"Foss never mentioned him to me," I mumbled.

"I just met him in January," Declan informed me as he took a sip from his water bottle.

"Why did he decide to make an appearance now?" I probed.

"They've started up the experiments again," He said bluntly.

"What?" I let my shock seep through, "I _destroyed_ the formula,"

"I know, that was what I said," He shrugged, "I guess they're smart enough to recreate it,"

I didn't say anything for a minute. I wanted to collect my thoughts. It didn't matter where I went, they would always find a way to do the one thing I fought so hard to prevent.

"Have they accomplished anything?" I asked.

"They have one child," He said, "I guess he's 49 weeks into the gestation,"

"_He?_" I questioned.

"Yes, a boy, from your DNA." He added.

"49 _weeks_?" I was still shocked from what he was telling me, "Who else's DNA did they use?"

"Just yours," He said.

"That can't be, it takes both male and female DNA to-" I stopped mid sentence, "A clone?"

"Yeah," He nodded, "They're still holding a torch to you at Latnok,"

"What does Foss want us to do?" I asked as I got up and began pacing out of habit.

"That's part of the reason why I came out here," He started, "The only way to get this child away from Latnok is to do it from the inside. Foss and I want you to work your way into the board,"

"Wouldn't we just be playing right into their hands?" I questioned, running my hand through my hair.

"Not with Wyatt's help," He explained, "Wyatt will take you under his wing and feed us information on what the board has planned in regards to you,"

"And you're sure we can trust Wyatt?" I paused mid pace.

"Foss seems to," He nodded.

"I need some time to think about this," I paused, "This is a lot to take in,"

He grabbed the tools that we had been using, before we took a break for lunch, and went back to work. I picked up the hammer and we finished up with the framework of the house. We both wanted to keep working. If we stopped it would mean we would have to talk, and neither one of us knew really what to say. We began work on the plumbing but since it was only the kitchen and the single bathroom that required work we moved onto the electrical once the plumbing was finished.

"I'll do it," I said as I finished the last of the electrical work, "I'll join Latnok,"

"I'll have Foss contact Wyatt," He simply said, "In the mean time, why don't we call it a night?"

I glanced around and noticed that the sun was beginning to set; it was the first time I took note of how late it was.

"Sure," I mumbled as we gathered the tools and loaded them into the bed of my truck.

"There's a small town a few miles from here," I started as I loaded the last of the equipment, "I usually grab dinner at the diner in town,"

"I'll just follow you," He said before turning to climb into his own truck.

The drive into town wasn't very long. Declan was able to keep up and we made it to the diner.

"Kyle Peterson," Lily the waitress, who usually waited on me, greeted as she showed us to my usual table, "Should I have Joe make your usual?"

"That would be great Lily," I smiled.

"I'll have whatever he gets," Declan added.

"That'll be right up," She smiled kindly before walking away.

"You have a usual?" He chuckled.

"I guess so," I nodded, "In a small town like this, people tend to remember the bearded guy who eats at the diner every night,"

"That may be true man, but most girls only take the time to remember their _favorite_ customer's orders," he smirked as he wiggled his eyebrows.

I just laughed it off and changed the subject.

"How is Lori?" I asked as I took a sip of my water.

"She's back in school. She's decided to follow in Nicole's footsteps and get her master's in psychology," Declan informed me.

I chuckled; I always had a feeling the Lori would make a great therapist. She was always good at giving me her sisterly advice. Granted it was usually to break Stephen and Nicole's rules and do something rebellious.

"Two turkey burgers no tomato and fries," Lily announced as she set the plates down in front of us.

"Thank you Lily," I smiled kindly in appreciation.

"No problem," She said before turning to check on her other tables.

"And the rest of them?" I asked, going back to the conversation we had been having before Lily came.

"Josh transferred to Udub and is making his way though pre-med. Stephen is now a department head at the university. And Nicole is back at work, she's working on starting her own practice," They all seemed to be doing well.

"And Amanda?" I asked.

He sighed as if to be choosing his words carefully.

"Is she still with that guy?" I probed.

"How do you know about-"

FLASHBACK: SEPTEMBER 2014

It had been two weeks since Roy had told Jessi the truth about his connection to Sarah. Jessi was overjoyed to finally have a strong lead on who Sarah was. She was finally discovering her own family. I had decided to take a flight to New York. I didn't like being in one place for too long and Chicago was becoming old.

I got out of the cab and walked a few blocks. Foss gave me monthly updates and everyone's location so I knew that she would be here. I waited across the street from her building. I watched as she descended down the steps from her apartment building. I smiled; she was still the same beautiful girl that I had left all those years ago. I followed, a few paces behind her, as she made her way through the crowd of people.

I wasn't exactly sure why I was here. I guess part of me just needed to know if she was okay, what she was up to, how she was? The questions seemed to get the best of me. There was no way that I would approach her that was way too risky. I watched her go into a coffee shop and get a latte before she continued on her journey toward the park.

She found an empty bench in Central Park and dug out a book from her bag. She had aged, not in a dramatic way, but in a graceful way. She wasn't the same young girl that I had left; she was now a beautiful young woman. She was there for about half an hour before a man approached her. He was wearing a suit and seemed like a stuffy kind of guy. I watched as he greeted her with a kiss on her lips.

She had moved on. I don't know why I felt a little angry but I did. This is what I wanted for her but I still didn't like seeing her with another man. I still loved her, which would never change. I knew that Amanda was the only one for me after Jessi and I had pursued something with Jessi. Soon after, Jessi and I had realized that any intimate relationship between us would only be on a physical level. There was higher connection. There were no butterflies.

END OF FLASHBACK: APRIL 2015

"I may have taken a trip to New York," I mumbled as I looked down at my food.

"Good for you," Declan smirked.

He had never approved of my leaving in the first place. Declan was always urging me to come back to Seattle, to be a part of my family again.

"If it helps I don't think she'll stay with the guy," He added.

"Why's that?" I asked as I finished off my burger and washed it down with water.

"Mrs. Bloom _approves_ of him," He grinned.

"Wow, he must be superman or something," I chuckled.

"He's definitely no superman, that would be your department," he said as he took a gulp of water.

I just nodded.

Declan ended up staying with me for the next couple of days. We were able to get the house finished enough for us to be able to leave. We had finished the plumbing and electrical and hung the dry wall. The last thing we did was tarp the house to protect it from rain.

I tossed my two bags into my truck and Declan and I set out to Seattle. It was a four-hour trip through the mountains, four hours that I spent scrutinizing my choice to return to Seattle.

**AN: Hello everyone! I know it's been a while since I've updated. Please let me know what you think!**


	15. Chapter 15

Kyle Trager

Kyle (POV)

APRIL 2015

I ran at an even pace along the shoreline of the bay that coasted Seattle. It had been years since I had ran this route, six years to be exact. The sun had begun to skim across the peaks of the mountains that coasted the apposing side of the bay. I had been running sprints as a way to clear my head. I was supposed to go with Wyatt to the Latnok facilities to _show_ the board that I was interested and Wyatt was doing his job.

We were attempting a coop against the board. Our goal was to overthrow Grace as the head of the board and bring me in as the new head. From there I would be able to run Latnok in a new direction. A direction similar to the one Adam had intended it to follow.

My head was spinning a little with all of this change. In some ways I felt forced into the situation. However it was the only way for me to get close enough to Latnok and stop the experiment once and for all. I had no idea what I would do with the child that has already been created. There was no way that I would terminate the child or let him live in a pod for the next 15 years. I still wasn't sure about how I felt about him being my genetic clone. It was a little too much to wrap my head around.

I started to head back toward Declan's apartment; I had been holding up there since I arrived in Seattle. By the time I had made it to his building the sun was hanging a little higher toward the east. I entered the lobby and rode the elevator up to the forty-eighth floor. Declan was still in bed when I entered the apartment. I jumped in the shower and let the hot water run down my body and loosen my muscles.

I hurried up once I heard Declan slowly willing himself out of his bed; I knew he would need the bathroom soon. I quickly dried off and dressed in a pair of khaki pants and a light blue button down shirt.

"Morning," I chuckled as I passed a rather groggy looking Declan in the hallway.

"Morning," He grumbled.

I made my way to the kitchen and poured myself a cup of coffee and rummaged through the cabinets for something of substance to eat. I found a six-pack of beer, day old pizza, some milk, and a few yogurts in the fridge. I settled for one of the yogurts and made a mental note to try and stop at a grocery store to pick up a few things for Declan. I picked up the newspaper from the table and looked it over as I ate my breakfast.

"There's a fresh pot of coffee," I pointed out as Declan entered the kitchen.

"Ready to enter the lion's den?" He asked, fixing himself a mug.

"Lion's den?" I questioned, not quite following.

"The Latnok facility," He clarified with a smile.

"Oh, yeah, I guess I am," I nodded, "I didn't really sleep much last night, I couldn't clear my head,"

"I can imagine," he said, joining me at the table, "I kept running through the Foss's plan over and over in my head,"

Foss was having Declan be my security and stay low and keep an eye on me while Wyatt showed me around the facility.

"It's going to be a long day," I sighed.

I cleaned up my breakfast and leaned against the counter, folding my arms across my chest.

"Don't worry, Foss and I have your back," He assured, "And you won't have to worry about Jessi, she's on her way to Seattle as we speak,"

We had found out that Roy Harper was actually a member of Latnok. He was Sarah's uncle, that was true, but he was also a Latnok member. He had failed to mention that to Jessi.

"I'm going to go over the notes Foss gave me on the members," I said as I left the kitchen and made my way into the living room.

Before I knew it Declan and I were leaving and he was dropping me off at the facility. I wondered into the lobby and found the facility to be very similar to the Madacorp building.

"Kyle!" I heard Wyatt call my name as he advanced across the room toward me.

"Wyatt, it's good to see you," I smiled as I extended my hand to him.

"I'm glad we finally got you to come see what we're all about," He adlibbed as he shook my hand, "Shall we get started?"

"Sure," I said casually.

"This is one of our many research labs." He said as we walked down yet another hallway and stopped in front of a viewing window.

"What are they researching?" I asked out of curiosity.

"Currently they are working to improve organ growth with the use of stem cells," He explained, "Come on there is a lot more to see," He said placing his hand on my shoulder and led the way.

"This is what we call our 'Young Latnok Program', we find children who seem to be gifted and we help them explore their talents," He seemed a little proud of the program.

"What kind of gifts?" I asked as we peered in from another window.

He opened the door and gestured for me to go into the room. I stepped in and scanned the room; kids ranging from all ages were working in various groups. I couldn't really tell what they were working on specifically, from what I could see it was very advanced considering their ages.

Wyatt led me to a man who was helping out a group of three students. He was average height, greying hair, and bright blue eyes. I took note that he was wearing one of the Latnok rings that were only given to members.

"Kyle, I would like you to meet Carter Hayes," Wyatt introduced us," Carter is the leader of our 'Young Latnok Society',"

"It's nice to meet you Kyle," Carter said as he extended his hand.

"You too," I said as I shook his hand.

"Why don't I show you some of our students?" Carter suggested and I nodded.

Wyatt fell back a little as Carter took over the tour. My mind raced back to the notes Foss had given me. '_Works with the Young Latnok Society and many of the Latnok youth. Has taken over the Udub group. Is interested in restoring the board to what it was when Adam ran things. Is close to a fellow board member, Nora McCullen. Trustworthy.' _

"Our goal here is to help students- who have proven to be more advanced academically- explore their talents," He explained as we strolled through the room glancing over the shoulders of many students.

"We wanted to create a challenging environment for children who weren't receiving that at the remedial schools," He explained, "These kids are also surrounded by others just like them. They feel comfortable here,"

They were purposefully showing me the more admirable projects Latnok was working on. I could only assume that it was an order from Grace Kingsley.

"Matthew," Carter tapped a boy- who looked to be about ten- on the shoulder, "I would like you to meet a friend of mine, Mr. Trager,"

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Trager." He said turning from his work to shake my hand.

"Matthew could you explain to Mr. Trager what it is that you're working on?" Carter probed.

"I'm working on creating a genetically modified form of rice that would be able to grow in the driest soils," My jaw dropped a little.

"How… How old are you?" I managed to say.

"I'm ten years, four months, and 23 days old," He replied simply.

"Thank you, Matthew; we'll let you get back to your work."

I shared a glance with Wyatt, he just smirked, and we continued on. Even though we were finished touring the Youth room Carter tagged along with the rest of the tour. After we visited a few more research facilities, Wyatt took me up to the fourth floor.

"We're about to conduct a board meeting," Wyatt explained as we rode the elevator, "The other members are eager to meet you,"

I knew that Wyatt wouldn't lead me into a situation that would bring me harm so I trusted that everything would be alright if I met the other members. The elevator doors dinged open and we stepped off. I couldn't help but feel slightly nervous. Declan had been right about the lion's den, that was exactly how I felt entering the boardroom.

"Good afternoon Mr. Baylin, Mr. Hayes," A young lady dressed in a tight light grey skirt and a white blouse greeted them. She must have been a secretary or an assistant. Her desk sat just outside what I assumed to be the boardroom.

"Good afternoon, Zoe," Wyatt returned.

"Is everyone here already?" Carter asked.

"They're just waiting on you," She said with a smile and opened the door for us.

Wyatt and Carter entered first and I followed in suit. I felt my core temperature rise slightly and my palms become moist. The room looked like an average conference room, the round table with twelve chairs sat promptly in the center and a few monitors hung on the surrounding walls. My eyes fell on each of the members seated around the table. As I scanned them my mind was matching their faces to the notes Foss had given me.

"Kyle," A woman- with blonde hair that fell to her shoulders and blue-green eyes- addressed me as she rose from her seat, "I'm Grace Kingsley,"

I knew exactly who she was, she didn't need an introduction. I clenched my jaw and refrained from showing any distaste for her. This woman was my biological mother, which didn't mean a thing to me.

"It's nice to meet you," I lied in a cold unattached voice.

She just smiled; I could see the calculated look in her eye. She thought she had finally won she thought that I was hers.

"Why don't we take a seat and we can all be acquainted?" She suggested.

Wyatt took his seat, as did Grace and Carter. I stared at the last empty seat for a moment and gathered that it was Adam's former place at the table. I took my seat and felt all eleven pairs of eyes focus on me.

"Kyle I would like to introduce you to-" Grace gestured to the young redheaded woman to her left.

"Charlotte Harrison, graduated top of her class at Cambridge University. Where she received a degree in genetics and neuro- science," I provided and continued onto the person seated to her left.

"Ethan Sheppard, one of the newest members, graduated from MIT with a degree in molecular engineering and a Ph.D. from Harvard," I rattled off as I watched his mouth gape a little.

"Jack Brooks, another newer member. Also a graduate of MIT, mostly studied theoretical physics," He looked slightly smug, I could tell he felt invaded.

"Anna Lancer," I paused, I felt slightly bad for knowing everything that I did about these people.

I had to remind myself that invading my personal life is something they have done since the very beginning.

"You are from a small town outside of Detroit, before you graduated high school you had already discovered a new protein in genetic sequencing. You received a full ride to Duke university where you received a degree in psychology and neuro anatomy," I saw her frown slight making me feel guilty.

"Nora McCullen, a senior member who has spent the majority of her time working with the Latnok Youth alongside Carter Hayes,"

Having already met both Carter Hayes and Wyatt I decided an introduction would be pointless.

"Kevin Porter, a former member of the Latnok chapter in Munich. Transferred to Seattle when you informed of the prolonged gestation project that Adam Baylin initiated," I felt his stern glare center on me.

"Juliet Brody, graduated from UCLA and is currently working with oil drilling companies off in Nigeria,"

"Roy Harper, you have recruited a multitude of members over the years. You claim to be the Uncle of Sarah Emerson. You've done work with the military in producing greater weaponry," I ended it there.

"As you can see, you aren't the only ones who can gather information and invade a person's privacy," I stared directly at Grace Kingsley.

The room fell silent. All I could hear was the elevated heart rate of the stunned members in the room. I shared an unnoticed glance with Wyatt, who gave me a small approving nod.

"Kyle," Grace started, "I am deeply sorry for all the distress we have cause you and the people close to you. However you have to understand how much of an asset you are to Latnok,"

"An asset that was ordered to be_ terminated_," I reminded.

"William Kern's actions were premature and misguided," She retorted, "We want you to become a board member, just like Adam had wanted,"

"Adam wanted a lot of things that were completely disregarded after his death," I pointed out, "Adam once referred to Latnok as being a group of noble visionaries. Today Wyatt has shown me a lot of admirable projects that I would like to follow suit with,"

"And we would love to have your help-" Grace started.

"I have a few conditions," I cut her off.

"Oh give me a break!" Charlotte Harrison spoke, "This is ridiculous! Are we going to completely overlook the fact that he killed your son, Grace?"

"Charlotte we aren't here to avenge Michael's death," Grace reminded her, "Michael took matters into his own hands and got himself in too deep. His death is tragedy, one that we must move past,"

I couldn't help but notice how cold of a woman Grace just made herself seem. She was willing to do whatever it took to get me to join the board. I couldn't help but wonder why.

"Kyle what are your conditions?" Grace asked.

"I would like to have the same amount of voting power that Adam held when he was the head of this board," I proposed.

"That would give him the same standing as you Grace!" Kevin Porter harked in outrage.

Grace stared at me from across the table, her elbows resting on the table and her hands folded together. I could tell she was trying to figure out what I was up to. She was quiet for the longest time and so was the rest of the board.

"You have a lot of guts to request such high demands," She finally spoke, "Guts that you must have received from my genes,"

She had pointedly reminded me that she was the one who donated her DNA to me. In her eyes she gave me life. I couldn't help but remember something Stephen had once told Josh during an argument, 'I brought you into this world, I can take you out of it,'

"Do we have a deal?" I asked.

"Yes, Mr. Trager, we have a deal," She smiled as a few of the other board members grumbled.

**AN: Hello everyone! Sorry for the long delay, I hope that the length of this chapter makes up for it. Please comment and let me know what you think! **


	16. Chapter 16

Kyle Trager

Kyle (POV)

MAY 2015

It had been a month since I had made my deal with Grace Kingsley. Since then I had been slowly working my way through getting to know each of the members. I had been able to sort out which ones would remain loyal to me- and all that I stood for- and which ones would stand by Grace. It was easy to figure out which members would remain loyal to Grace.

_Roy Harper_ had stood by her since Adam was on the board so there was no way I would be able to change his mind no matter if he was related to Jessi or not. _Kevin Porter_ was only looking out for his best financial interest and from the projects Grace had presented to him; she had already won him over. _Charlotte Harrison_ was Michael Cassidy's former fiancé; there was no point in even approaching her_. Juliet Brody_ and _Jack Brooks_ were two of the younger members who had yet to reach their ten-year mark. However, according to Wyatt, both Juliet and Jack had spent the majority of their time working closely with big profit corporations and oil exports. Which made it clear to me that they too were looking out for their own financial interests.

Wyatt had sworn to me that Carter Hayes and Nora McCullen were two of his oldest confidants. They had both been on the board during Adam's administration and were interested in returning the board to what it had been under Adam's guidance. The only two members we were unsure of where their loyalties fell were Ethan Sheppard and Anna Lancer, both younger members.

I had been trying my best to follow up with Anna and Ethan on any projects they were currently working on. I tried to make an appearance at the Latnok facility on a daily bases, checking in on various projects.

"What are you working on today, Ethan?" I asked as I entered his office.

"Hey Kyle," He greeted as he peered up from his computer, "I'm just going over some data from a test pool that I'm conducting at Seattle General,"

"Test pool?" I questioned, folding my arms over my chest, "What are you testing,"

"I assume you're familiar with the Cerebral Impulse Relay, that Madacorp created?" He double-checked and I nodded, "Well after Julian was removed I was asked to take over what the project had originally been intended for,"

"I had always assumed its original intent had been to retrieve the data from my head," I tried to tread lightly.

"Yes, well that was Julian's intent," He sighed, "However the machine did cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to create so Julian misled the investors into thinking it was for Alzheimer's research. So I'm using it for just that,"

He said it with a proud smile. Ethan was twenty-seven years old; he had yet to be jaded by the corruption of money that most of the other board members had succumbed to. It was a quality that I found to be endearing.

"You're using the CIR to look for a pattern?" I questioned.

"Sort of, right now I'm just trying to get a bases," He said, "What I want to eventually focus on is how amyloid plaques build up in the brain of Alzheimer's patients and eventually create some sort of a statin that could combat that,"

"That's a noble goal," I noted.

"Yeah, my grandfather has Alzheimer's," He explained, "I figured if there was something that I could do, I might as well. If not for him than for the thousands of people affected by it,"

"If you need my help with anything just ask," I offered, "I'll even help you sort through scans if you need me to,"

"Thank you Kyle," He smiled and I excused myself from his office.

My job was to form a bond with the other members. Wyatt's job was to point out all of the flaws of Grace's leadership. Our goal was to gain enough members to hold enough votes to remove Grace from her position of chair leader and nominate me to take her place. All the members who had been on the board for at least ten years held five votes, the younger members held three votes each. Grace and I both held ten votes each as a result of our deal.

With all the members that would remain loyal to Grace she would have a total of 29 votes in her favor. If I were to gain the trust of Anna Lancer and Ethan Sheppard I would have 31 votes. I would have the majority and I would assume chair leader. Wyatt and I were working under a time crunch; we only had two weeks left until the board would vote on a new chair leader as they did every year. Grace had been the incumbent for the last seven years. If everything went as planned then I would assume leadership over the board.

Anna was working in one of the classrooms with a group of students who couldn't have been more that fifteen years old. I stood in the back and watched as she lectured about molecular biology. Teaching the students fell to the younger board members. Some of the senior members, specifically Carter Hayes and Nora McCullen, did their part to teach as well.

I couldn't help but smile as I observed Anna interacting with the students. I would be lying if I said that she wasn't attractive. She was twenty-seven just like Ethan. Her caramel brown hair fell in loose ringlets down to her waist; her eyes were a bright hazel color. When she smiled her eyes squinted causing them to shine just a little.

"Mr. Trager," She greeted with a warm smile as the class came to an end, "To what to I owe this visit?"

"I've just been going around and seeing what everyone is working on," I shrugged, "Grace has been encouraging me to get involved with some projects,"

"I'm sure your expertise would be appreciated," She said as she put a few files into her black leather bag.

By that point all of the students had filed out of the room and were off to their next lesson. Their schedule had far less structure than what I had experienced at Beach Wood. They had three lessons in the morning, followed by three hours of independent study, and ended with some form of physical activity. As long as each student completed those three things throughout the day, the order didn't matter.

"I was actually planning on getting out of the building to get a coffee," I informed her, "Would you like to join me?"

She checked her wristwatch and I could tell she was organizing her schedule in her head.

"You know what, I could use some fresh air," She beamed, "I have to be back in an hour though. I have a meeting with Wyatt,"

"Of course," I smiled genuinely as I opened the door and led her out of the facility.

We went to a coffee shop that was a few blocks away. With Anna I didn't discus research projects or grants or anything of the sort. Instead we talked about the prolonged gestation project. I was trying my best to get her to bring up that the board had started the project again.

"You weren't apart of the board when the project first began, but you were a new member when I was released from the pod," I clarified.

"Sort of," She paused as she took her drink from the barista, "I had just graduated from Duke, where I had been apart of the student Latnok group,"

"So you weren't a board member yet?" I asked as we found a table.

I knew the answer but I wanted her to feel as if she was informing me of all this information. I wanted her to trust_ me_ as a way for me to fully trust _her_.

"No I wasn't a board member until 2010," She explained, sipping her latte.

"After I had dropped off of Latnok's radar," I processed.

"Right," She tried her best to smile.

She became quiet and I could see guilt wash over her. I knew she wanted to say something but wasn't sure if she should.

"Is there something wrong?" I asked curiously.

"No, nothing is wrong," She paused, "It's just that…"

"That what?" I probed slightly.

"Well, most of the younger members weren't around when Adam's started his experiment," She explained, "I don't really know too much about it,"

"Who were the other members that aren't on the board now?" I questioned.

Exploring this information was something I hadn't yet considered.

"Well Adam of course, Grace, Roy, Nora, Carter, Kevin," She rattled off, "Sarah Emerson was for a brief time. So was a man named Brian Taylor. Julian Ballantine Senior. And a few other members who are either dead or have disappeared by now,"

"And you don't know their names?" I asked out of curiosity.

"No, not off the top of my head," She admitted sheepishly, playing with the paper sleeve around her cup.

"Can I ask you something Kyle?" She added.

"Anything," I smiled kindly.

"Why did you come back?" She asked.

"I'm not really sure how to answer that question," I admitted, "I guess it was always part of my destiny to come back at some point. I just had to stop fighting it,"

She nodded; I could tell she wasn't satisfied by my answer. I would eventually tell her the real reason why I came back but I had to be sure that I could trust her first. I glanced down at my sliver wristwatch.

"Don't you have a meeting with Wyatt?" I reminded her.

"Oh! I almost forgot!" She jumped to gather her things, "It was really nice talking to you Kyle,"

"You too," I rose from my seat and courteously hugged her goodbye, "We'll have to do this again,"

Part of me was concerned that I had asked a few too many questions. However I knew that Anna had a tendency to go to Wyatt with any concerns before she approached Grace. Wyatt would minimize the situation before it became a concern.

I picked up my empty paper cup and tossed it in the trash as I left the coffee shop. I was about to cross the street when I stopped short. At the adjacent street corner a woman with short blonde hair caught my eye. I stepped back for a moment and watched as she crossed the street with the rest of the crowd. It was Nicole; just seeing her brought a smile to my face. She still looked the same. I had to stop myself from sprinting across the street. My eyes followed her until she disappeared into the same coffee shop that I had just exited.

I couldn't help but think this was a sign. We had been within minutes of running into each other. Had I kept Anna talking for just a few moments longer or if Nicole had left- what I assumed was her office- just a few minutes sooner. I shook off the thought and continued to where I had parked my truck about a block away. I drove into the industrial district of Seattle. The gravel crunched under my tires and I pulled up in front of the warehouse.

"Jessi?" I called as I opened the metal door.

"In here!" She called back from Foss's make shift office.

"Where's Foss?" I asked, leaning in the doorway.

"He and Declan are running a surveillance test," She mumbled not looking up from her laptop.

"What are you working on?" I questioned as I came around the desk and peered over her shoulder.

"I'm trying to figure out how I could have been so naïve," She sighed in frustration as she turned toward me.

"Hey," I said kneeling down to her level, "There was no way you could have known that Roy was a part of Latnok,"

"You did," She mumbled, her gaze shifting to a spot on the floor.

"I had a hunch," I shrugged, "I didn't know for sure,"

"But you did," she said looking me directly in the eye.

"Jessi you didn't want to see it," I whispered, "You had finally found a connection to Sarah and you didn't want to lose it,"

She didn't say anything she just glanced away.

"I wouldn't believe it if any of the Trager's were apart of Latnok," I tried to make her feel better, "You were trying to see the best in Roy, you were trying to trust him,"

"I guess so," She shrugged, "I just can't believe how blind I was,"

I could tell she was frustrated; I chuckled slightly.

"Come on," I said as I rose from my crouch, "Lets go for a walk. Clear your head a little,"

We wondered around the perimeter of the warehouse as we talked. I told her about each of the members and what I thought about them. She told me her opinion of Grace accepting my deal. She shared with me her concern about Grace's intent. We meandered down to the marina where the boats were.

"I saw Nicole today," I admitted as we sat down on the edge of the dock and watched the boats in the bay.

"You what?" She asked a little shocked, "Did you talk to her?"

"No," I shrugged, "I was on my way to my car and I saw her cross the street on her way to the same coffee shop I had just left,"

"I still don't see why you don't just go back to the Tragers," She sighed in frustration.

"I'm trying to-" She cut me off.

"Keep them safe," She finished, "I know, you keep saying that but what about when you're done at Latnok and everything is back to the way it was when Adam was there?"

"I haven't really thought about it," I shrugged, "But even if I did, it's been almost seven years, Jessi,"

"They're your family Kyle," She reminded me, "They'll forgive you,"

"You know," I started, "you might want to take a bit of your own advice,"

"My own advice?" She glanced at me in confusion.

"You haven't had much luck in finding out who your mother truly was," I pointed, "Maybe you should talk with Brian,"

"You're suggesting that I talk with Brian?" Shock rang in her voice, "The same Brian who you loathe,"

"I know, I'm not too fond of Brian," I admitted, "but the one thing about him is that he has always been truthful when it regards that past and Sarah and Adam,"

"Maybe giving him a second chance wouldn't be too bad," She mumbled.

The wind blew against my face and I dug my hands a little deeper into my jacket pockets. Maybe Jessi was right; maybe they would forgive me, but was it right for me to just drop back into their lives again? Could I really do that to them? I would have to be absolutely sure that I wouldn't leave them again. I couldn't do that to them, I wouldn't do that to Nicole again.

**AN: Hello everyone! I hope you enjoy this chapter! Please let me know what you think.**


	17. Chapter 17

Kyle Trager

Kyle (POV)

MAY 2015

I sat at the old desk in Foss's office, going over the update Wyatt had given me on the restarted project Grace had been conducting. The child was now 53 weeks gestation. A normal baby is born after 39 to 42 weeks of being in the mother's womb. This meant that the child had now spent an extra eleven weeks in the artificial womb, the pod. There was no doubt that this child would be gifted once removed from the pod.

"What are you doing?" Foss asked as he lingered in the doorway.

I turned to face him. I had almost died when he extracted me from the pod. How had he been able to make sure that I lived?

"When you removed me from the pod," I started, "How were you able to keep me alive when Adam had been unsuccessful in doing so,"

"I had to do CPR," He shrugged.

"Right, but in Adam's notes on the unsuccessful extractions he noted doing the same thing,"

"Kyle I don't have answers for why I was successful and Adam wasn't," his voice was rough, "All I know is that you were going to die if I didn't get you out of there,"

"I'm just trying to figure out how I'm going to remove the child without harming him," I explained.

"How about you focus on removing _Grace_ from the_ board_?" He suggested, "Tomorrow is your only chance,"

Tomorrow was the final vote for the board leader. Wyatt and I were pretty confident that we would be able to overthrow Grace and take over the board.

"You're right," I nodded as I began to clean up my papers.

"It's pretty late. You should head back to Declan's and get some sleep," He suggested.

I almost felt as if he was politely asking me to leave.

"Alright," I chuckled, "I'll get out of here,"

I found my way out of the warehouse and climbed into my old pickup truck. The tires crunched on the gravel as I pulled away from the warehouse and continued on down the road toward the downtown district. Declan had been kind enough to let me sleep on his couch for the past month and a half. I couldn't help but feel that I was getting in the way. I also came to crave the solitude that I had become so accustomed to over the past few years. A little over two weeks ago I had Foss help me find a place of my own.

I pulled into the parking garage of the high rise building a few blocks away from Declan's building. I rode the elevator up to my floor and made my way down the hall and unlocked my door. My apartment was a small one-bedroom place. I didn't have much furniture other than an old table, a couple of chairs, and a double bed.

I set my bag down on the table and hung my coat over the back of one of the chairs. I went into the bathroom and splashed water on my face and changed into a pair of sweat pants and climbed into bed.

Sleep didn't come with ease because I couldn't seem to clear my mind. The minutes seemed to tick by at hyper speed. Eventually it was seven o'clock in the morning. I sighed as I sat up on the edge of the bed and rested my elbows on my knees as I cradled my head in my hands.

I willed myself to tiredly stumble my way into the bathroom and take a shower. The beads of hot water helped wake me up a little. I rested my head on the tiled wall in front me, thinking about how much would change today. If I gained the chair of the Latnok board, everything would change. Then again if I didn't gain the chair then Grace would be informed of where my loyalties fell, specifically not with her.

I ran a towel through my wet hair as I stepped out of the shower. I wrapped the towel around my waist as I grabbed my shaving supplies from my tote. I cleaned up the scruff that had taken over my face from the last day. I lathered on a layer of after-shave and changed into the charcoal grey dress pants and a light grey button up shirt and black tie I had laid out the night before. I slipped on my loafers before I slipped on my charcoal grey suit coat. I locked the apartment door behind me, and rode the elevator down to the parking garage and hopped into my truck and made my way to the Latnok facility.

"Kyle!" I heard Wyatt call as I entered the lobby.

"Good morning Wyatt," I smiled as I extended my hand to him.

"Are you ready?" I knew his question had a double meaning to it. Was I ready for the meeting? And was I ready to take over Latnok?

"Yes," I smiled and he and I made our way to the conference room.

As we exited the elevator Wyatt greeted Zoe, just as he had done before every board meeting, and entered the room. Most of the members were already at their seats. As I took my seat I could feel my palms moisten ever so slightly.

"Good morning Kyle," Grace smiled at me.

Her smile was almost motherly. It was the role she had been attempting to fill since I had arrived at Latnok. Grace seemed to have many sides to her.

"Hello Grace," I tried to return her smile.

I opened the blue folder that had been placed at each of the seats and looked over today's agenda, just as I had done at every meeting. I made a note that the annual vote for board leader was last on the slip of paper.

I shared a glance with Nora McCullen and Carter Hayes, both senior members and in on my plans for a coup. They had both done their part to sway Ethan Shepard and Anna Lancer.

"Sorry I'm late," Kevin Porter announced as he entered the room and took his seat.

"Well," Grace started, "Now that everyone is here, shall we get started?"

The meeting proceeded as was indicated on the agenda. I paid attention as projects and proposals were discussed. I tried my best to get a handle on my nerves, as the topic of the vote became closer and closer. Wyatt and I shared multiple glances through out the meeting. I paid attention to his heart rate and noticed that he had an ever so slight case of nerves as well.

"Alright, and lastly we have the annual vote," Grace raised the topic. "First and for most Carter do you have the submitted applicants?"

Anyone who wished to be a candidate for the head of the board had to submit their request in writing.

"This year we have two candidates," Carter announced with an ever so faint smirk on his lips, "Our incumbent, Grace Kingsley, and our newest member, Kyle Trager,"

I felt Grace's gaze shift and burn holes into me. On the outside she was calm and collected but I noticed her heart beat faster. There were a few scuffs from Charlotte Harrison and Kevin Porter.

"Right, well," I could tell Grace was a little taken back, "Shall we vote than?"

"All those in favor of Grace Kingsley remaining the head of the board," Carter announced.

There was a chorus of I's from the members we had anticipated to remain loyal to Grace. Both Carter and Nora graciously voiced their nays as did Wyatt and I. There was a pause before Ethan Sheppard and Anna Lancer made their votes known. Ethan was first to be brave enough to join us in our nays. Anna shared a glance with me and I smiled in encouragement.

"Nay," She mumbled her gaze never faltering from mine.

"Kyle Trager, congratulations you are now the official head of the Latnok board," Carter announced with a smile.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Charlotte was the first to rise from her seat in outrage, "If _he_ is now the head of the board then I am resigning from my position,"

"Charlotte," Grace warned.

"No Grace I have been quiet long enough!" She seethed, "I do not want to be part of an organization led by a _murderer_,"

Wyatt scuffed a little at the irony of her statement considering all the grief Grace had put my family through and the hit that had been ordered on Adam.

"Then you may leave," Grace countered.

Charlotte's eyes widened, not expecting Grace to respond so calmly.

"Fine," She slipped her Latnok ring off of her finger and slammed it on the table before storming out of the room.

"I would like to thank those of you who voted in my favor," Grace started, "If there are any of you who wish to leave please do so now,"

I could tell Grace hadn't fully accepted what was happening. I knew part of her was defeated but I also knew she was tactfully planning her next move.

"I didn't sign up to be apart of a board that wasn't run by you, Grace," Kevin Porter announced, "I hope you can understand my request for transfer,"

"I understand Kevin," Grace nodded.

There was a tense silence that lingered in the room. I could tell that Carter didn't know exactly what to do next.

"I can't say that I understand your motive," Grace finally said to me.

"I intend to restore Latnok to what it once was under Adam's leadership," I replied simply, "I would like you to be apart of that, Grace,"

I could tell she was shocked, she hadn't anticipated me to extend an olive branch like that.

"I'll…I'll contribute any way I can," She stumbled on her words.

"Kyle Trager," Carter addressed me, "It is costmary for the new board leader to close out the meeting,"

I rose from my seat as did Grace. I stepped toward her and accepted her handshake before she stepped away from the leader's chair. I rested my knuckles on the table as I glanced at each of the board members who intended to remain under my leadership.

"Before I close out this meeting I would like to address the open seat we now have, with Charlotte's absence," I began, "I would like to bring on Jessi Emerson on, however I need two people to second my motion,"

"I second your motion," Wyatt raised his hand with no surprise to me.

"As do I," It was Grace who spoke up.

"Thank you both," I smiled earnestly, "We will swear her in at our next meeting. I would also like to request a briefing on any projects that are being, in any shape or form, funded or affiliated with Latnok. That includes project 781230,"

All the board members, except for Wyatt, seemed shocked by my knowledge of the cloning project. My hope for revealing my knowledge was that the members would be more truthful when it came to revealing their projects; because if I knew about the cloning there was no telling what I knew.

"Is that clear?" I asked calmly.

Each member indicated they understood.

"Meeting adjourned," I stated and each of the members filled out of the room except for Grace and Wyatt.

I collected my notes from todays meeting and filled them away in my bag.

"So that's it," Grace was the first to start, "You two think that by pulling the rug right out from under me that you've won,"

"There's nothing to win Grace," Wyatt reminded her.

"Regardless of the semantics, Wyatt, I would like to know what exactly you are planning on accomplishing here?" She had risen from her seat and planted the tips of her fingers on the table.

"Latnok was originally created with the intent to help the world prosper," I reminded her, "I'm not sure when that vision was lost but my intent is to restore it,"

She didn't seem too convinced.

"Fine. Play your little game," She spat, "Just know that it takes more than this little vote here to gain the influence that I held,"

I watched as she stormed out of the room. That was the reaction that I had been looking for. How she had reacted in front of the other board members was all a calculated façade. She wanted to look like a victim.

Jessi (POV)

MAY 2015

"That's great news Kyle," I smiled, listening to him retell the events that had transpired at the board meeting, over the phone.

My fingers traced the car logo on the steering wheel of the car.

"I'll meet you at the warehouse tonight," I informed him as I checked the time.

I ended the phone call and climbed out of my car. The one thing I didn't miss about Seattle was the rain. I pulled the hood of my jacket up as I jogged to into the building. I checked the board for the correct floor and rode the elevator up.

"I'm here to see Dr. Trager," I smiled kindly at the receptionist at the table.

"Please sign in and have a seat," The lady, who looked to be in her late forties, directed me, "It'll just be a moment,"

"Thank you," I said as I signed the sheet and took a seat in one of the sterile looking chairs of the waiting room.

There were three other people in the waiting room with me. There was a man in a business suit who kept checking his wristwatch and tapping his foot impatiently. There was also a couple in their mid to late forties who sat in complete silence trying their best not to acknowledge each other. I could only guess they were here for marriage counseling.

"Julie Everett?" It was the receptionist who had called my alias name.

I rose from my seat and followed her back to one of the doctor's offices.

"Dr. Trager will be right with you," She said politely as she opened the door for me.

I nodded and took a seat on one of the black leather armchairs.

"Sorry I'm late I had-" But she stopped mid sentence as she realized who I was.

Her mouth hung open slightly at a loss for words. Her eyebrows knit together in confusion. I couldn't help but think back to the last time she and I had spoke. I had told her that I was going to try and get Kyle to come back home.

"Jessi?" She finally spoke after the longest time.

"Hi," I said rising from my seat hesitantly.

"How? What- what are you doing here?" She stammered.

"I came here to talk to you about… Kyle," I broached the subject carefully.

"Is he okay?" She asked. I could see her motherly instincts kick in.

We each took a seat on the leather sofa oriented in front of the windows. The set up of her office made me feel like I was seventeen again, having weekly sessions with Nicole at her home.

"He's fine," I assured her, "He misses you guys,"

"We miss him too," I could see tears pooling in her eyes.

"He's living in Seattle now. He has a small apartment off of Harrison Street," I explained the good news to her.

"Why hasn't he come to see us," she questioned somewhat naïvely.

"He's been working with Latnok," I started.

"_Latnok_?" I sensed slight disgust in her tone.

I nodded as I collected my thoughts on how to proceed.

"I can't explain it all to you. He is trying to change them," I chose my words carefully.

She was quiet. I could see all the emotions she was experiencing play out on her face. There was confusion, hesitation, excitement; it was all there on her face. Her mouth would open slightly as if she was going to speak but she was at a loss for words.

"I want to see him," She stated sternly.

I could tell she wasn't going to take no for an answer.

"I'm working on that," I said leaning forward to take her hand

**AN: Hello everyone! I know it's been almost two months since I last updated, hopefully the length of this chapter makes up for that. Also I did both a Kyle and a Jessi prospective. Anyway, let me know what you guys think, please feel free to comment! Thanks for reading!**


	18. Chapter 18

Kyle (POV)

Kyle Trager

JUNE 2015

I watched the sunlight dance across her golden hair. She looked like an angel as she made her way towards me. She was beautiful.

"Kyle," She smiled my favorite smile.

I took a step toward her, meeting her with an embrace. My arms locked around her not wanting to let her go. I had missed how it felt to have her so close to me. To feel her heart beat instead of only hearing it beat.

"Kyle," She whispered into my chest as I held her close.

"I miss you," I replied, burying my nose into her hair.

I smiled as the familiar sent of coconut and vanilla filled my nose.

"I love you," She mumbled as she began to fade from my arms.

"Amanda!" I called as blackness engulfed me, "Amanda!"

"Kyle, Kyle," I could hear a different voice call out to me.

I could feel my eyes begin to flutter open. I squinted as my eyes adjusted to the bright light and I became more aware of my surroundings. I wasn't with Amanda; I had fallen asleep at my desk in my new office at the Latnok facility. I sighed as I rubbed the sleep from my eyes.

"You slept here again?" Jessi questioned, setting a paper cup, of what I assumed was coffee, in front of me.

"Thank you," I mumbled, ignoring her question.

"Dreaming about Amanda again?" She raised an eyebrow.

"What makes you say that?" I countered.

"You were calling her name when I walked in," She retorted.

It wasn't in a harsh or jealous way. Jessi and I had both moved past any feelings we had once shared when we were younger. We had given us a shot but it didn't work out for many reasons.

"I guess I was," I sighed as I rose from my seat and began to look over the boards I had set up with all the members and their respective projects tacked to it.

"You still love her," She gathered.

"It doesn't matter if I still love her," I said a little harsher than I had intended, "I can't _be_ with her,"

"Yes you can," She said sternly.

"Jessi," I warned.

I could feel the pain of my decisions work their way through the emotional box I had worked so hard to lock them in. I took a deep breath, composing myself. I closed my eyes and turned my back to her.

I could tell she was waiting for me to say something. She wasn't going to speak unless I did first. A day hadn't gone in the last two weeks were Jessi hadn't brought up Amanda or my family. It was beginning to eat at me.

"I can't focus on my family or Amanda right now," I began, "Because _right now_, there is a _child_ locked in a pod who needs my help,"

She was quiet. I knew she didn't deserve me being angry with her but it was just easier than dealing with my true feelings.

"Jessi, I'm sorry," I apologized.

"No, no you're right. Our focus should be on the child," She agreed coldly, "If you don't mind I would like to do some research in my office alone,"

I nodded and heard her as she left the room, closing the door behind her.

I went back to my research on the process of birthing and what occurs from the physiological aspect. I didn't seem to find much more than what I had already known. I looked over resent medical journals, research that had been conducted, as well as personal testimonials. I went over anything that I could think of.

"Kyle?" There was a nock on the door.

"Carter," I greeted as he entered the room with Ethan Shepard following closely in toe, "Ethan, what can I do for you both?"

"We think that we've figured out how to extract the boy," Carter got right to it.

"You have to form a connection with the child," Ethan began, "It's what Tom Foss did with you and its also what you did with Ms. Emerson,"

"I'm not following," I admitted, "What do you mean by a connection?"

"We're not sure exactly how to explain it," Carter shrugged, "But it's very similar to the connection a mother experiences with her child during the pregnancy and labor,"

"Tom Foss was the only one who made a point to truly connect to you when you were in the pod," Ethan tried his best to explain, "He would play music for you. To him you were a child not a subject,"

"But Foss spent months watching over me in order to form that bond," I pointed out, "I wasn't even in the same room as Jessi while she was in the pod,"

"Yes, but you were close enough for you to link though your subconscious," Ethan countered, "It was enough to 'wake' her,"

"So I have to 'wake' the child?" I questioned.

"You have to form a bond with him," Carter explained, "Try to reach his subconscious,"

"If extracting the child was this simple, why was Adam never able to extract a child successfully?" I questioned.

"We think that he was too invested in the project," Carter provided, "He was clouded by the lack of success with pervious extractions and there for never able to form a true bond,"

I nodded as I took in all the information and tried to make sense of it. Jessi and I did share a bond that went deeper than our conscious awareness that was true. It was logical to think that I could form the same connection with this child. After all he was my clone.

"Okay," I nodded, "Its worth trying,"

This was the only lead that had come to me in days that had the possibility of working. I slipped off my suit coat and hung it on the back of my chair as I left the room. I had Carter and Ethan prepare a medical team to meet me in the lab; I also had Jessi and Wyatt meet me down in the lab. As I made my way off the elevator and down the hall I spotted Jessi and Wyatt waiting just outside the room.

"What's this all about?" Wyatt was the first to question.

"Ethan and Carter think that I have to reach the child's subconscious in order to rouse him from the sleep state so he is prepared to be extracted," I explained.

"A maternal bond," Jessi mumbled slightly to herself.

"What?" Wyatt asked in confusion.

"I've read studies on how a mother forms a connection with the fetus during the pregnancy," Jessi explained further, "Some believe that a mother can subconsciously link to her child right before labor. As if that is how labor is triggered. Of course there is no solid proof of that,"

"It's the only thing we have," I acknowledged, "This child can't spend 16 years in a pod,"

I opened the door to the lab and found the child, my clone, floating in the pink fluid of the pod. He looked so peaceful in the sleep state he was in. I approached the pod hesitantly; Jessi and Wyatt lingered behind me. My mind flashed back to Foss playing music for me while I was in the pod.

The medical team was already prepped and waiting for my next move. I reached out and placed my hand on the edge of the glass. I knew I had to do everything in my power to get this child out safely.

"You know how to open the pod?" I asked over my shoulder.

"Yes," Wyatt answered.

I nodded and focused my attention back on the child. I placed both hands on the edge of the glass and closed my eyes. I cleared everything from my thoughts and in order to reach my own subconscious. The room around me began to fade as I was brought into the subconscious of the child. There was a flash of white light and just as quickly as I had reached the subconscious I was pushed back out.

I opened my eyes and immediately knew I had reached him. The monitors around us began to beep frantically.

"Open the pod!" I demanded.

"Are you sure?" Wyatt replied with as much haste.

"Yes!" I harked.

Wyatt bolted to work. The fluid began to drain from the pod and once it had resided Wyatt was able to open the hatch. I reached inside and pulled the child from the pod. The medical team, which consisted of two nurses and a doctor, came to my aid. I preformed CPR to get his heart to start beating, the same way Foss had done.

"Come on!" I cried out as I pressed my fingers on his small chest.

"Kyle stop!" Jessi warned.

I listened ever so closely as his tiny heart began to pump on its own and his lungs began to fill with air as he let out a scream.

"You did it!" Wyatt hollered in excitement.

The medical team took the child away to clean him up. I kept a watchful eye as they took his weight and measurements. He was larger than a newborn however he was still a small fragile infant. His arms flailed and he cried as the team took a blood sample.

"Mr. Trager," A nurse addressed me as she placed the, now calm and swaddled, child in my arms.

"We need to move to a more sterile exam room," The doctor announced.

Jessi, Wyatt and myself stayed with the child as we were transported to a new room that was two floors up. It was in the medical wing of the facility, as apposed to the research labs where the pod had been.

The standard tests for a newborn were run along with a gene panel and a few non- FDA approved tests. I held the child on my lap as the doctor ran his exam.

"Well I guess it is true," Grace Kingsley made her presence known as she lingered in the doorway, "You extracted the subject,"

My eyes flickered over to her with a glare. She knew that referring to the child, as a subject was one of the buttons she could push.

"Don't you think that should have been run by the board before you acted so hastily?" She folded her arms over her chest.

"Considering this project was fueled by my DNA, without my knowledge, I made an executive decision," I retorted as I rose from the exam table once the doctor was finished

"So what? You're just going to become the subject's father?" She questioned, shifting her weight to one hip.

I shifted the child so he could rest his head on my shoulder. I hadn't really thought my role in this child's life. Was I a father to my own clone?

"I will do what's best for the child," I stated sternly

"Right," She scuffed, "Just remember that _child_ is actually a multi billion dollar asset, whom investors have paid to be used as we originally intended,"

"As I said, my focus is on the child's best interest," I reminded her.

She stared punitively at me as if to intimidate me into backing down. The truth was that I had, had enough of Grace's threats and games and things would now me done my way. She didn't say anything further, I watched her turn away and listened as her heals clicked down the hallway.

I took a deep breath, composing myself again. I peered down at this child in my arms and knew that it was going to be a battle to protect him. Now that we had successfully removed him from the pod, we would have investors to worry about.

"I still don't understand why you've kept her around," Wyatt commented.

"I need her to keep her followers satisfied," I reminded him, "At least for a little while longer,"

"In the mean time," Jessi approached the child, and me "This little boy, needs a name. We can't just keep calling him _the child_,"

I smiled as I bounced him a little in my arms.

"Any suggestions?" I peered up at Wyatt and Jessi.

"Liam Tate," Wyatt answered.

"First and middle?" Jessi checked and he nodded.

Tate was a tradition male middle name for the Baylin family.

"Liam Tate," I tried it out with a smile.

**AN: Hello everyone! Here is a new chapter! I hope you all enjoyed reading it as I did enjoy writing it. I am trying my best to work Kyle into reuniting with his family (Spoiler alert?) I just want to do it in a natural way and not seem rushed. Anyway, please leave a comment and let me know what you think! Thank you for reading!**


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